This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact The Epoch Times Reprints.
Ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) (L), and the chairman of the committee, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), speak at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington on Sept. 25, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
The bipartisan leaders of a House committee have voiced support for the trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—known as AUKUS—which is currently under review by the Pentagon.
In a letter sent to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on July 22, Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) stated that the three countries are “stronger together” under the AUKUS framework, in the face of the Chinese regime’s expanded capabilities and coercive actions against its neighbors.
China is “credibly preparing to use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific,” the two lawmakers wrote, quoting Hegeth’s remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in May.
Moolenaar is the chair and Krishnamoorthi the ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
The pact was announced in September 2021, brokered by former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and former U.S. President Joe Biden, to counter the Chinese regime’s growing military power in the Indo-Pacific. It consists of two pillars: aiding Australia in acquiring conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines and collaborating on the development of advanced military capabilities.
In June, the Pentagon announced that it had begun reviewing the pact to ensure it was aligned with President Donald Trump’s “America First Agenda,” amid concerns over whether the United States could meet its own submarine demands and uncertainty about the possible use of Australia’s submarines in support of future U.S. operations.
Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s top policy chief, is leading the review and has previously expressed mixed feelings about AUKUS. The lawmakers also sent him a copy of the letter.
The two pillars of the AUKUS framework are “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,” the lawmakers wrote.
They warned about the Chinese navy being able to “project blue-water capabilities at increasing distances from its shores” by pointing to two recent maritime activities. In June, China deployed two aircraft carriers in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. In February, China conducted live firing exercises in the Tasman Sea, a body of water situated between New Zealand and Australia.
“This attempt to project power as far south as New Zealand’s front door highlights the importance of AUKUS in cementing ties to longstanding allies like Australia, as well as advancing vital undersea capabilities that will be central to deterrence,” the letter reads.
The lawmakers also emphasized that both the United States and Australia “must continue to make generational investment within and outside the AUKUS framework” in order to expand their respective “submarine industrial bases, workforces, and force structure.”
Australia has made two payments—$500 million in February and $525 million this month—to the United States under the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement, aiming to have eight nuclear submarines operational by the 2050s.
“AUKUS has received strong bipartisan support from Congress for a reason,” the lawmakers wrote. “Alongside our colleagues, we understand the agreement promises to strengthen our national security alongside that of two of our closest allies.”
In June, a bipartisan group of five House lawmakers—including Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.), chairman and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, respectively—also sent a letter to Hegseth voicing their support for AUKUS.
The congressmen described AUKUS as a “critical mission” to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo–Pacific region.
In their letter dated June 23, the lawmakers argued that the U.S. submarine industrial base has the capacity to allow for the sale of three Virginia-class submarines to Australia in 2032, 2035, and 2038 as planned.
Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong as part of the Quad foreign leaders’ summit. The Quad alliance comprises Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.
There was “a good discussion about AUKUS and a very good discussion about the positive benefits of AUKUS,” Wong said.
Frank Fang is a Taiwan-based journalist. He covers news in China and Taiwan. He holds a Master's degree in materials science from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan.
