The US Congress has passed legislation allowing the country to sell Virginia class submarines to Australia under the Aukus security pact.
Sweeping legislation covering a wide range of military priorities including Aukus passed the US House of Representatives on Thursday Washington time, a day after it cleared the Senate.
The development has been warmly welcomed by the Australian government, which had hoped to secure the legislative tick before the US entered the politically charged environment of a presidential election year.
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, said Australians could “have a sense of confidence about this multi-decade arrangement actually coming to pass” because of the strong bipartisan votes in the US Congress.
“We are on the precipice of historic reform that will transform our ability to effectively deter, innovate, and operate together,” he said.
