U.S. lawmakers urged the Trump administration to recommit to a nuclear submarine deal with Australia and Britain, saying it was vital to “deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.”
A Pentagon official said earlier this month that the deal, known as AUKUS, was under review to ensure it was “aligned with the President’s America First agenda,” amid concerns that the U.S. is not building nuclear-powered submarines fast enough to sell some to Australia as agreed under the deal.
“This is a defense alliance that is overwhelmingly in the best interest of all three AUKUS nations, as well as the entire Indo-Pacific region,” the lawmakers said in the letter sent Monday to Defense Secret Pete Hegseth.
They said much progress had already been made on the deal, with Congress passing related legislation, U.S. shipbuilding rates accelerating and Australian naval officers undergoing joint training.
The letter was signed by Reps. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., and Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who are co-chairs of the Friends of Australia Caucus, as well as Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Ala.; Adam Smith, D-Wash.; and Trent Kelly, R-Miss.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles told reporters in London yesterday that he was “not going to speculate about what the review will ultimately say” and that Australia supported the review as a “perfectly natural step for an incoming administration to take.”
