US lawmakers back Australia submarine project in Pentagon letter

By David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican and Democratic heads of a U.S. congressional committee for strategic competition with China have written to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to stress their strong support for the AUKUS submarine project currently under Pentagon review.

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.

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.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)