The Pentagon has requested Congress to greenlight the transfer of up to two nuclear power submarines to Australia.
The legislative proposals (pdf), which were first submitted on May 2 and made available online on May 23, come as U.S. defence officials argue that while the transfer may have a short-term effect, the transfer would allow the AUKUS submarine security cooperation to “keep those submarines in use by a close ally to maintain our collective defense.”
“This project, referred to as AUKUS, will require significant coordination and cooperation among the governments of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as among their defense industrial bases. This proposal will authorize some of the early necessary steps in the process and will signal to Australia and the United Kingdom that this is a long-term commitment by the United States to an enduring relationship with trilateral cooperation on some of the most sensitive technologies,” the U.S. Department of Defence said….