A group of Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation on Friday that would provide the legislative authority to allow Australia to receive US-made nuclear-powered submarines and training to maintain them, the House Foreign Affairs Committee said in a press release
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th June, 2023) A group of Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation on Friday that would provide the legislative authority to allow Australia to receive US-made nuclear-powered submarines and training to maintain them, the House Foreign Affairs Committee said in a press release.
The trilateral partnership between the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia (AUKUS) was launched in September 2021 based on the premise that the US and UK would provide Canberra with the technology to obtain its own nuclear-capable submarines.
"This bill supports the AUKUS Trilateral Security Framework by providing legislative authority to allow for the transfer of Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, the training of Australian private sector defense personnel, as well as the integration of Australian financial contributions to the US defense industrial base," the release said.
The AUKUS Undersea Defense Act was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, House Indo-Pacific Subcommittee Ranking Member Ami Bera, and Joe Courtney, Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee Ranking Member Joe Courtney.
In March, Russia and China in a joint statement expressed serious concerns about the risks to strategic stability in the Asia-Pacific region related to the AUKUS security pact and their plans to build nuclear submarines.
Russia and China urged the AUKUS parties to fulfill their obligations to non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
