A British Royal Navy admiral on Tuesday (October 17) questioned the US “bureaucratic obstacles” faced by the Australia-UK-US Trilateral Security Partnership (AUKUS) project. Previously, the Australian ambassador to the United States also criticized the “ridiculous” bureaucracy in the United States as hindering the progress of the AUKUS project. This project aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.
British First Sea Lord Admiral Ben Key told the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank in Washington that Western powers are in “the most competitive environment in decades and the global order is facing challenges.” , the United States should not use regulations to maintain a competitive advantage.
“We have to be very careful to identify what you want your regulatory environment to achieve,” Key said, referring to the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) that govern the transfer of U.S. technology that the AUKUS program involves.
“If your regulatory environment is designed to prevent your adversaries from getting it and learning about it, that may be practical,” Keay noted. “If your regulatory environment is designed to allow you to gain a competitive advantage in a different way,” he said. “I would then question whether that really helps what we all care about, which is trying to ensure a security framework.”
Key gave examples such as during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and the Battle of Jutland in 1916. The British Navy was restricted by the bureaucratic system, which affected its combat capabilities. He pointed out that the current AUKUS project should avoid similar bureaucratic obstacles to ensure effective implementation of the plan. He also believes that in the current environment of global uncertainty, plan executors should take the lead, while regulators should step back “to ensure the right balance.”
The Biden administration in the United States says it is working with Congress to ease technology-sharing rules with the United Kingdom and Australia, but progress has been limited so far. Analysts pointed out that there is resistance within the U.S. State Department.
Last week, Australian media quoted former Australian Prime Minister and current Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd as saying that the United States’ “ridiculous” bureaucracy was hindering the accelerated progress of the AUKUS project. He believes that strict export controls on sensitive military technology may slow down the sharing of nuclear propulsion technology among allies under the AUKUS framework.
“We don’t have time to wait, the clock is ticking,” Rudd was quoted as saying by the Australian Financial Review.
Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who is currently visiting Australia, said on Tuesday that he hoped Australia The acquisition of a fleet of submarines powered by American nuclear technology could strengthen peace in the Pacific, but he has expressed reservations about supporting increased military cooperation with the United States.
Military activities between China and the United States have heightened tensions in the Pacific. Lambuka said his government had not supported the signing of a trilateral agreement involving the United States and Britain providing nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. He also said that Fiji’s position is clear. “We are friendly with China and the United States and do not want to get involved in a struggle between superpowers,” he said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit Washington next week. AUKUS is expected to be an important item on the agenda of this visit.
Source: voachinese
