Chris Patten: Why the AUKUS submarine deal was necessary

The diplomacy surrounding the recent agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States left much to be desired, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson should now lead efforts to mollify the French. But this should not be the last agreement between like-minded powers to counter Chinese aggression, writes Chris Patten

Who could blame the French for suggesting, when Britain next asks for their help, that the British call Washington instead? President Joe Biden is joined virtually by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, not seen, in the East Room of the White House in Washington recently. Photo: AP/Andrew Harnik

The basic text making the case for an international-relations rulebook was provided by the ancient Greek historian Thucydides in his account of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta in the fifth century BCE. 

During that struggle, the inhabitants of Melos, the only significant island in the Aegean Sea not controlled by Athens, insisted on retaining their neutrality despite intense Athenian pressure. Eventually, the Athenians lost patience and wiped the Melians out, killing all the men and enslaving the women and children. The Athenian justification was simple: “Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.