A landmark deal to share U.S. and British nuclear-powered submarine technology with Australia could play a key role in a hypothetical crisis with China over Taiwan, the State Department’s second-highest-ranking official projected on Wednesday.

“AUKUS has the potential to have submarines from a number of countries operating in close coordination that could deliver conventional ordnance from long distances,” Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said, referring to the acronym for the military alliance. “Those have enormous implications in a variety of scenarios, including in cross-strait circumstances.”