US lawmakers back Australia submarine project in Pentagon letter
Details of the AUKUS plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the early 2030s were unveiled in 2023 under former President Joe Biden, part of efforts to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.
The Pentagon said in June it was reviewing the three-way collaboration between Australia, Britain and the United States to ensure it was aligned with President Donald Trump's "America First agenda," amid concerns about the ability of the U.S. to meet its own submarine needs and whether Australia's vessels would be used in support of U.S. policy in the future.
In a letter to Hegseth they released on Tuesday, Republican Representative John Moolenaar and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi said China's expanded military capabilities and coercive actions against neighbors showed it was "credibly preparing to use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific."
The congressmen, the chair and ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) respectively, said the AUKUS framework was "a key step to dramatically enhance the collective defense of the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom in the face of the CCP's ongoing aggression."
"AUKUS has received strong bipartisan support from Congress for a reason," they wrote. "Alongside our colleagues, we understand the agreement promises to strengthen our national security alongside that of two of our closest allies."
China has described AUKUS as a product of a "Cold War mentality" and said it would lead to greater divisions and confrontation, or even conflict and war.
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The congressmen stressed that both the U.S. and Australia must continue to make "generational investments" within and outside the AUKUS framework to expand their respective submarine industrial bases, work forces, and force structure.
They noted Australia's $3 billion commitment to support these efforts, the first tranche of which was delivered this year.
Last week, Australia's Washington ambassador Kevin Rudd said his country was working with the Pentagon on the review and was confident that all issues raised would be resolved.
Leading the review has been Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, who has previously expressed concern that the U.S. would lose submarines to Australia at a critical time for deterrence against China. The congressmen copied their letter to him.
This month, Australia's Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy responded to a report that Colby had pressed Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan by saying Australia would not commit troops in advance of any conflict.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also rebuffed U.S. requests to commit to lifting defense spending from 2% to 3.5% of GDP, saying instead Australia would spend what was needed for its defense. REUTERS
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CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Australia, Britain sign 50-year AUKUS submarine partnership treaty
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Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Australia, Britain sign 50-year AUKUS submarine partnership treaty
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles, Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey speak to media at Admiralty House during the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) in Sydney, Australia July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Kirsty Needham/File Photo SYDNEY - Australia's government said on Saturday it signed a treaty with Britain to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership. The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the U.S. in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced a formal review of the pact this year. Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty was signed with Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey on Saturday after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state. "The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our SSN-AUKUS submarines," the statement said. The treaty was a "commitment for the next 50 years of UK-Australian bilateral defence cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I", it said, adding that it built on the "strong foundation" of trilateral AUKUS cooperation. Britain's ministry of defence said this week that the bilateral treaty would underpin the two allies' submarine programmes and was expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds ($27.1 billion) for Britain in exports over the next 25 years. AUKUS is Australia's biggest-ever defence project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion over three decades to the programme, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the U.S. production base. Australia, which this month paid A$800 million to the U.S. in the second instalment under AUKUS, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed. The defence and foreign ministers of Australia and Britain held talks on Friday in Sydney on boosting cooperation, coinciding with Australia's largest war games. As many as 40,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercises held from July 13 to August 4, which Australia's military has said are a rehearsal for joint warfare to maintain Indo-Pacific stability. Britain has significantly increased its participation in the exercise co-hosted by Australia and the United States, with aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales taking part this year. REUTERS


AsiaOne
7 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Trump administration to release over $6.4b school funding that it withheld, World News
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