Most fundamentally, the authors, while arguing that the agreement aligns Australia too closely with US strategy, propose a solution that would gravely damage the alliance. Their target is AUKUS Pillar One, which envisages Australia acquiring nuclear attack submarines (SSNs) of the Virginia class in the 2030s and the SSN-AUKUS class in the 2040s and 2050s. Worse, if Australia walked away from AUKUS Pillar One, France would see yet another failure by Canberra to stick with a commitment. Also, Australia’s international credibility as a defence partner would be destroyed, and the US-Australia strategic alliance would suffer probable irreparable damage. Sticking with AUKUS Pillar One sounds much better.