U.S. lawmakers and members of the AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-United States) working group are proposing to share the country’s top-secret nuclear propulsion technology with Australia and arm it with nuclear-powered submarines. The AUKUS members introduced the Australia-U.S. Submarine Officer Pipeline Act to Congress last week.
AUKUS refers to the trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
House Representative Joe Courtney, a member of the working group, issued a press release stating, “Our bill will authorize an education and training program for Royal Australian Navy submariners to receive formal instruction in the highest standard of U.S. Navy technology, and will begin rotating in the first cohorts of Australian sailors who will command their future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.”
The bill was praised by another working group member, Representative Mike Gallagher, who stated, “The U.S., Australian, and UK partnership is the beating heart of the free world. Establishing a joint training pipeline between our navy and the Australian navy is a critical step that will take our security partnership to the next level.”
Australia, which typically eschewed nuclear energy, is singing a different tune as tensions with China continue to rise in the Indo-Pacific region, according to The Epoch Times.
China has been “vehemently opposed to any geopolitical and military blocs” operating within its “strategic space,” according to Velina Tchakarova, director of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy, speaking previously with The Dallas Express.
Zhao Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, had previously argued that AUKUS risked “severely damaging regional peace… and intensifying the arms race” between China and the West, according to BBC.
The three AUKUS nations declared their intentions in a joint statement in September 2021, stating, “This is a historic opportunity for the three nations, with like-minded allies and partners, to protect shared values and promote security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.”