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Aukus fallout: Australia denies Japan poised to formally join security pact
- Tokyo’s involvement would be limited to cooperation on developing advanced technologies, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday
- The United States has previously raised the possibility of involving other nations, including Japan and New Zealand, in the trilateral security pact
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Australia has hosed down speculation Japan may be formally invited to join the Aukus security partnership, saying Tokyo’s involvement would be limited to cooperation on developing advanced technologies.
There are “no plans” to expand Aukus beyond its three founding members, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a press conference in Canberra on Tuesday, referring to Australia, Britain and the United States. He added that Aukus would look for external research cooperation on a “project-by-project” basis.
“If there can be gains that are in the interests of the three Aukus partners but in addition any partners outside the direct Aukus relationship, then that will be considered,” Albanese said, adding Japan was a “natural candidate” to work on such projects.
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“What is not proposed is to expand the membership of Aukus.”
Australia, Britain and US signed the Aukus agreement in September 2021 with the goal of helping Canberra deploy a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines by the 2030s. The pact is part of a pivot by Washington to strengthen its presence in the Asia-Pacific as China’s military ambitions expand.
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 cyber technology.
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