TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — AUKUS submarines could be used against China in a military conflict over Taiwan, the U.S.’ second most powerful diplomat suggested on Wednesday (April 3).

Speaking at the Center for a New American Security, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell linked the AUKUS submarine pact to Taiwan. He said the submarines would enhance regional stability, including in the Taiwan Strait, and suggested they could deter Chinese aggression toward Taiwan.

AUKUS possesses “enormous implications in a variety of scenarios, including in cross-strait circumstances,” the diplomat said. “I would argue that working closely with other nations, not just diplomatically but in defense avenues, has the consequence of strengthening peace and stability more generally.”

AUKUS is a trilateral security partnership among Australia, the U.K., and U.S., in which Australia acquires nuclear-powered submarines as part of efforts to counter China's power and influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Previously, the three allies had cautiously avoided directly connecting AUKUS to China or increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

Australia has said the submarines hold “the capacity to operate in the context of war,” but their primary goal is to increase regional security. Melbourne has also emphasized it made no commitments to support the U.S. in defending Taiwan in the event of a conflict. 

Campbell argued that AUKUS will be increasingly important to Indo-Pacific security, saying, “What we're confronting now are challenges that require a much deeper engagement with allies and partners, and I think the idea over time will be in a number of potential areas of conflict and in a number of scenarios."

“I think those practical circumstances in which AUKUS has the potential to have submarines operating in close coordination that could deliver conventional ordinance from long distances,” he added.

However, China has said that AUKUS undermines peace and security, warning it could fuel a nuclear arms race in the region.