The Pentagon said on Thursday it has endorsed the tripartite Aukus security pact with the United Kingdom and Australia, which would involve Canberra’s acquisition of at least three Virginia-class nuclear submarines within 15 years.
The administration of Donald Trump said earlier this year it was reviewing a 2021 deal for the nuclear-powered attack submarines signed under his presidential predecessor, Joe Biden.
The Department of Defence completed its five-month review, which endorsed the Aukus agreement and determined it is “in alignment with President Trump’s ‘America first’ agenda”, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
“Consistent with President Trump’s guidance that Aukus should move ‘full steam ahead’, the review identified opportunities to put Aukus on the strongest possible footing.”
Congressman Joe Courtney, the top Democrat on a US House subcommittee on sea power, said the review’s completion assures that the pact’s “framework is aligned with our country’s national security interest”.
“With its completion, it is important to note that the 2021 Aukus agreement has now survived three changes of government in all three nations and still stands strong.”
Courtney is a vocal champion of Aukus in Congress and represents a Connecticut district that is home to the primary submarine manufacturing facility in the United States.