Australia yesterday downplayed reports Japan could soon join its AUKUS security pact with the UK and the US, saying that any cooperation would be on a project-by-project basis as differences have emerged within the pact over adding new members.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised Japan as a close partner, but said there were no plans to add a fourth member to the pact at a news conference called hours after the AUKUS defense ministers announced they would consider working with Japan on military technology projects.
“What is proposed is to look at ‘pillar two’ of AUKUS and look at a project-by-project, whether there would be engagement, and Japan is a natural candidate for that to occur,” Albanese said. “What is not proposed is to expand the membership of AUKUS.”
Photo: Reuters
Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles reiterated the AUKUS partners could potentially work with Japan on specific technology projects, but the nation would not join the pact.
AUKUS, formed in 2021, is part of efforts to push back against China’s growing power in the Indo-Pacific region.
The first stage, or “pillar,” aims to deliver nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia. The second pillar is focused on sharing military technology and cooperation in areas including quantum computing, artificial intelligence and cybertechnology.
While the US has previously raised the possibility of involving other nations, including Japan and New Zealand, expanding the pact faces hurdles from strict US restrictions on sharing technology and hesitation in other capitals.
Canberra worries adding a fourth nation to the alliance would complicate and take attention away from the already difficult task of acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, a diplomatic source said.
A Japanese government official on Monday said that discussions about formally joining the alliance would likely not be welcomed by Australia or the UK until they had concrete results from the pact.
“Talking about increasing the number of members when nothing’s been achieved with AUKUS yet would only disrupt the framework of cooperation that is meant to be its basis,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Even in the absence of political obstacles, officials and experts say Japan needs to introduce better cyberdefenses and stricter rules for guarding secrets before it can be incorporated in the pact.
A summit in Washington between US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida today is expected to address Japan’s possible future involvement in pillar two projects.
China has criticized the pact and said it could spark a regional arms race.
A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson on Monday said that expanding AUKUS would destabilize the region and Japan should act cautiously on defense issues given its history.
US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, a key architect of US’ Indo-Pacific policy and a proponent of wider involvement in pillar two of AUKUS, last week said that the US was encouraging Japan to do more to protect intellectual property and hold officials accountable for secrets.
“It’s fair to say that Japan has taken some of those steps, but not all of them,” Campbell said.
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