https://www.politico.com/live-update...aukus-00198393
Rubio backs AUKUS
Marco Rubio, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the State Department, affirmed Wednesday that the three-nation submarine pact known as AUKUS has his support, offering the first indication that the administration will back the deal.
Rubio’s comments, made at his Senate confirmation hearing, will likely reassure countries worried about the agreement’s future. Rubio called it a “blueprint” for other partnerships.
The AUKUS pact is a trilateral defense agreement forged under President Joe Biden between the U.S., U.K. and Australia to develop and share technology for nuclear-powered submarines.
The pact has strong bipartisan backing, although some Republican critics argue the Biden administration hasn't gone far enough to implement it. “A lot of us have been pressing the administration to gear that up,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said at the hearing. “It has not been forthcoming.”
Rubio’s remarks could soothe allies’ fears that Trump would seek to renegotiate the pact or abandon it all together.
Trump's State Department choice not only supported the pact but also noted the U.S. could create similar “consortium-like partnerships with nation-states” on defense and advanced technologies.
The agreement “is obviously defense-related, but it's an example of how we can leverage partnerships with allies,” Rubio said.