President Biden is meeting with the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia on Monday regarding the vital partnership between the three nations as the growing threat from China looms.
Biden traveled to San Diego, California, ahead of the meeting and welcomed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to address tensions surrounding China's growing influence and concerning actions on the world stage.
AUSTRALIA WILL PURCHASE NUCLEAR-POWERED ATTACK SUBMARINES FROM THE US TO MODERNIZE ITS FLEET
The partnership between the three nations, officially called the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) partnership, tightened further this week with the announcement from the Biden administration that it had identified the "optimal pathway" to provide Australia with conventionally-armed nuclear submarines by the 2030s with the best of U.S. and British technologies.
"It’s a multi-phased approach that will deliver Australia that capability far more quickly than even we thought possible, when we originally and initially launched this partnership," a senior administration official said.
Phase one of the plan, according to officials, is already underway. Submarines from the United States and the United Kingdom will visit ports in Australia, and this year, Australian sailors will begin embedding themselves in U.S. and U.K. submarine forces and nuclear power schools.
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
