WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement on the Biden Administration’s announcement of the expansion of AUKUS to include Japan before fully implementing AUKUS legislation within the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):
“The Biden Administration’s decision to announce an expansion of AUKUS before fully implementing the bipartisan legislation we passed in the 2024 NDAA is yet another illustration of its propensity to conduct foreign policy by press release. I have been an outspoken supporter of AUKUS since its announcement and argued that it could eventually serve as an opportunity to foster deeper cooperation on advanced defense technologies with close allies like Japan and improve burden sharing. However, the Biden Administration has to get the basics of AUKUS right before it expands the pact to other partners.
“Currently, the Biden Administration owes Congress a certification affirming that the United Kingdom and Australia have legal and regulatory systems comparable to ours. Without this certification, cooperation on advanced technologies under AUKUS – the very types of military capabilities needed to counter China – will remain stymied by regulations and bureaucracy. Rather than take credit for things it has not yet done, the Biden Administration should certify our two closest allies and deliver tangible defense capabilities now. Adding more partners delays capabilities and fails to deter China.”
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