Two journeys to Tokyo last week have underscored the forging of a new, albeit informal, triple alliance that stands alongside the US in the war on terror. First, Australian Prime Minister John Howard met Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and agreed that North Korea must be dissuaded from its nuclear ambitions by a multinational effort. That is the demand of US President George W. Bush, who has grouped North Korea, Iraq and Iran as an 'axis of evil'. Then, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, fresh from a visit to Washington, followed Mr Howard to Tokyo to agree that both pressure and negotiations were needed to get the North to give up its nuclear programme. Mr Blair said it was 'fundamentally important' for Japan to become more active in the international arena. Mr Koizumi, Mr Howard and Mr Blair have been marching along parallel roads for many months. Each has taken a strong diplomatic stand in support of the US invasion of Iraq. All three have dispatched armed forces to Iraq - Britain and Australia with ground troops and Japan with warships and logistics vessels at sea. Perhaps most important, all three have given the same reason for aligning themselves with the US, which is that it serves their national interests now. As Lord Palmerston, the famed British prime minister, asserted in the 19th century: 'We have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual and those interests it is our duty to follow.' The Japanese, Australian and British leaders have not sided with the US because they think the Americans are good guys. They have decided, in this day of Mr Bush's maxim 'you are either for us or for the terrorists', that it is better to be allied with the world's superpower than to be opposed it. Their reasons for looking to America for political and military backing are discernible: First, many Japanese have recently expressed concern over an immediate threat from North Korea, which has up to 300 missiles that could reach Japan, is seeking nuclear arms and has abducted Japanese citizens. Second, Australians worry about what they call the 'near north', meaning Indonesia and southeast Asia. Muslim extremists exploded a bomb in a nightclub in Bali in October last year, killing many Australian tourists. Those same extremists are known to be operating in several other Southeast Asian nations. Third, the British have been confronted with an attempt by France and Germany to turn the European Union into a bloc that would dominate Britain and contain American influence. Britain, which has long sought to maintain a balance of power in Europe, has been part of a triple alliance before, including one with Sweden and the Netherlands against France in 1668. Beyond power politics, the most immediate benefit gained by the triple alliance is that British, Australian and Japanese leaders have quick access to the highest levels of the White House. As an Australian white paper said earlier this year: 'We have never been better placed to put our views before the United States and have them heard, including on issues where we disagree.' Contrast that position with the anti-American posture of France, whose leaders slammed the US on Bastille Day, then announced that France would not send troops to help police strife-ridden Iraq. It does not take a degree in political science to figure that the French ambassador's calls to the White House are not likely to be answered readily. For the US, the triple alliance provides a triangle of democratic allies on islands off the eastern, southeastern and western shores of the Eurasian land mass. US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, took note of two of the three at the recent Shangri-La conference of defence ministers in Singapore. He said: 'Japan is in the process of its own national [security] level evaluation and planning process, driven in part by new threat dynamics. Australia's central role in Iraq, its support for coalition efforts in Afghanistan and its commitment to fight terrorism at home proves once again how valuable it is to have an ally that takes security and its commitments to the common defence seriously.' And last week, Mr Bush was unstinting in his praise of Mr Blair, adding: 'The British and American peoples will hold firm once again, and we will prevail.' Richard Halloran is a former New York Times foreign correspondent in Asia and military correspondent in Washington