Has the AUKUS Alliance Backfired?

When Australia, the UK and the US came together to form the AUKUS alliance in September, they never explicitly mentioned Beijing- though it was pretty clear a main objective of the pact was to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific. But, seven months later, there's huge concern after China and the Solomon Islands signed a security pact, and Canberra is concerned. John Blaxland International Security Professor at the Australian National University Victor Gao Soochow University Chair Professor Patricia O’Brien Asian Studies Program Professor at Georgetown University