Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has called the newly announced trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom “historic and important.” “Historic because it overturns decades of strategic caution and announces to the world that we take national security seriously,” he said in a statement on Twitter on Sept. 16. “Important because it acknowledges the scale of the strategic challenge from China and declares that Australia will play our part in meeting it,” he added. The new security alliance was announced on Sept. 16 by U.S. President Joe Biden, and the British and Australian Prime Minister’s Boris Johnson, and Scott Morrison during a joint virtual press conference from each of their capitals. The new alliance, called “AUKUS,” will see the U.S. and UK governments assist Australia with acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, a move that would make Australia one of the only countries in the world to …