Citing continued bilateral nuclear security cooperation, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and ranking member Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation on Wednesday that would extend the 1958 U.S.-U.K. Mutual Defense Agreement.
The bill would extend the agreement, which ends on Dec. 31, 2014, by 10 years.
“The United Kingdom remains the closest ally and most important security partner of the United States,” Royce said. “The Mutual Defense Agreement is a key element of our enduring ‘special relationship.’ By renewing this agreement, Congress will ensure the uninterrupted continuation of our close nuclear cooperation with the U.K. and reinforce NATO’s ability to provide strategic security for the Alliance.”
The act enables the exchange of nuclear information, hardware and material between the two governments. The legislation introduced Wednesday would update training and research policies, improve cooperation and allow for joint evaluation of potential enemy threats.
News reports from the U.K. described debate in Parliament last week, with some alleging the act creates too much dependence on American technology and serves to proliferate nuclear weapons technology.
“It’s controversial with some parts of the electorate because of the extent to which it gives implicit and explicit leverage to Washington,” University of York international security lecturer Dr. Nick Ritchie said in an interview with the Guardian newspper. “It means the U.K. has to buy in to U.S. security strategy, come what may, even if it has proved disastrous in some parts of the world.”