(Reuters) -Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday that the United States would be able to use planned defence facilities in Western Australia to help deliver submarines under the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.

The government on Saturday said it would spend A$12 billion to upgrade facilities at the Henderson shipyard near Perth, as part of a 20-year plan to transform it into the maintenance hub for its AUKUS submarine fleet.

The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the U.S. in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region. President Donald Trump’s administration is undertaking a formal review of the pact.

When asked on Sunday if the U.S. would be able to us

See Full Page