The U.S. seeks to take an active role in protecting Taiwan specifically and the Indo-Pacific generally and one approach is through the AUKUS pact, a trilateral agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
The deal, first announced in 2021, is designed to counter China's military threat in the Indo-Pacific region, Reuters reported. The landmark defense agreement, among other things, calls for Australia to purchase as many as five nuclear-powered submarines from the U.S. As part of what is Australia's largest defense project ever, at least one U.S. submarine will visit Australian ports in the coming years, and several submarines will be deployed by the U.S. in Australia, tentatively in 2027. In the early 2030s, Australia will purchase three of the submarines and have the option to purchase two more.
The U.S. has faced hurdles meeting its obligations in the region, notably with respect to helping Taiwan build up its defenses, as production times and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) have slowed the ability to help out allies. Against that backdrop, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing Wednesday on “Modernizing U.S. Arms Exports and a Stronger AUKUS.” It’s imperative that the U.S. meet those challenges so it remains the partner of choice, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), committee chair, said.
“From its increasingly aggressive posture in the waters surrounding Taiwan to Chairman Xi (Jinping)’s stated goal to unify with Taiwan, the malign actions of the Chinese Communist Party pose a clear and present danger,” McCaul said, detailing a recent visit he made to the region and the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) militaristic response.
“The CCP is testing their capabilities and Taiwan’s vulnerabilities in preparation for potential invasion,” he said.
Taiwan is just a piece of the puzzle when it comes to the Indo-Pacific region, and the threats to maritime commerce and regional peace is a primary reason behind the importance of the AUKUS pact.
A White House fact sheet from April of 2022 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 committee wanted to hear what regulations stand in the way of delivering military hardware to friendly nations in the region and what Congress can do to ensure deals aren't delayed.
Jessica Lewis, assistant secretary of the State Department, and Mara Karlin, assistant secretary of Defense for Strategies, Plans, and Capabilities detailed the process of arms deals, the security concerns associated with working with our allies and other issues.
AUKUS involves two pillars: one provides Australia with conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability at the earliest possible date, and the second calls for trilaterally developing and providing joint advanced military capabilities, Lewis said. She described AUKUS as a “generational opportunity" for collaboration with our allies.
To implement AUKUS, the State Department is working within the existing regulatory system, while simultaneously pursuing changes through legislation and international agreements, she said.
McCaul said that when he was in Taiwan, he met with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, who asked where the weapons systems are that Taiwan paid for.
The witnesses wouldn’t give specifics in an open hearing, but Lewis explained the process. Once Congress clears a sale of military equipment, then it goes on contract, Lewis said. Only then can production start, she said, adding that they’re looking at ways to speed up the production timeline.
Several committee members asked whether the U.S. has the ability to pay manufacturers for existing orders and also to keep options open for increasing production.
“We’re seeing a big increase in demand around the world that coincided with COVID and supply-chain issues,” Lewis said in explaining the cause of the delay in getting military materiel to Taiwan. “I think we can do more to work with industry to help them get production started and add capability,” she said, though she didn’t specifically mention specific companies to maintain stand-by production capacity that Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and others mentioned.
The National Defense Strategy (NDS) calls on the Defense Department to build enduring advantages to secure U.S. foundations for integrated deterrence. It also describes partnerships with allies as a central point of the strategy, Karlin said in underscoring the importance of AUKUS.
“What is needed now, more than ever before, is an approach that enhances our AUKUS partners’ conventional military capabilities, opens support to a more integrated defense industrial base, increases information sharing, and implements cooperative policies that reflect the concepts laid out in the National Security Strategy,” Karlin said. “What cannot be overstated enough is this: we cannot do this alone, and our AUKUS partners stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States – as they have for many decades.”
Meeks and others also asked about keeping military secrets, regarding armaments, as the U.S. works with Australia — a target of Chinese espionage — and Britain.
Karlin assured the committee that operational security is of paramount importance and a trilateral understanding of defense trade standards is being hammered out.
The imperative is clear, for AUKUS to succeed “we need to change the rules,” McCaul said.
