The US and the UK plan to indefinitely extend the Mutual Defence Agreement (MDA) signed in 1958 to enhance cooperation in the field of nuclear weapons – exchange of technology and programmes.
This news was quoted by the Financial Times, the Report reported with reference to TASS.
According to the newspaper, such a decision by Washington and London, ‘which requires the consent of the parties, cancels the 10-year limit on its validity’ and is due to the fact that both countries ‘are embarking on a costly modernisation of nuclear deterrents to counter the proliferation of weapons of adversaries’.
It is also motivated by the decision of Washington and London to transfer data and equipment for the operation of nuclear submarines to Canberra. This agreement is included in a tripartite agreement under AUKUS, a security partnership established in September 2021 between the governments of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to implement various joint defence initiatives.
According to John Healey, Head of the UK Ministry of Defence, the parties have taken this step to ‘strengthen the MDA by ensuring continued cooperation’. The amendment was recommended by the energy and defence ministries in April, according to a statement from Washington. In 2014, the two sides extended the MDA until December 2024.
