As U.S. officials confirmed that Australia plans to purchase several nuclear-powered submarines from the U.S., Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) said the U.S. and Australia are on the same page when it comes to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“Australia is one of our most important allies. If we are to counter the CCP, the strategic partnership between our two countries must only grow stronger,” Krishnamoorthi, ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), wrote in a tweet on March 9.
American officials confirmed on March 8 that Australia will purchase as many as five nuclear-powered submarines from the U.S. in the 2030s, Reuters reported. The submarines, which feature American technology and a British design, are part of a landmark defense agreement called the AUKUS pact between the U.S., U.K, and Australia, Reuters reported March 9.
As part of the pact at least one submarine will visit an Australian port by the end of this year, and several submarines will be deployed by the U.S. in Australia, tentatively in 2027, according to the Reuters report.
A White House fact sheet released last April states that in addition to the submarine deal, one priority for the AUKUS agreement is to develop advanced technologies that will be used to help promote peace in the Indo-Pacific region. These advancements are expected to include autonomous undersea vehicles, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity for communications and intelligence operations.
The Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the CCP held its first hearing, “The Chinese Communist Party’s Threat to America,” at the end of February, according to a press release from Krishnamoorthi’s office. In his opening remarks at the hearing, Krishnamoorthi said the U.S. seeks to safeguard U.S. interests and values and to steer investment towards repairing American economic weaknesses without causing divisive anti-Asian sentiment, according to a transcript of his statement.
“Over the last three decades, both Democrats and Republicans underestimated the CCP and assumed that trade and investment would inevitably lead to democracy and greater security in the Indo-Pacific region, including in the PRC [People's Republic of China]," he said in the release. "Instead, the opposite happened.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned at a Foreign Ministry press briefing that conflict is inevitable unless the U.S. stops trying to “suppress” China.
“The United States claims that it seeks to ‘out-compete’ China but does not seek conflict,” Qin said at the briefing. “Yet in reality, its so-called ‘competition’ means to contain and suppress China in all respects and get the two countries locked in a zero-sum game... If the United States does not hit the brake but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict and confrontation.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told the Federal Newswire, “China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s comments are incredibly inflammatory and reveal the CCP’s intent to challenge the status quo. We cannot tolerate this aggression and the admin should respond with strength.”
