Joe Biden, Fumio Kishida to announce ‘historic’ agreement upgrading US-Japan relationship: top envoy

‘Unprecedented trilateral engagement’ for Washington, Tokyo and Manila when countries’ leaders meet next week, No 2 State Department official says
US needs to implement co-production of weapons with allies as Russia reconstitutes militarily with China’s economic support, adds Kurt Campbell

US-Japan relations

Robert Delaneyin Washington

Published: 1:52am, 4 Apr 2024

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US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will announce an “historic” agreement next week that will “upgrade” the two countries’ security relationship, deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell said on Wednesday.

In addition to agreements that will bolster bilateral security arrangements while the Japanese leader is in Washington, the two leaders will announce “an unprecedented trilateral engagement” with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr.

“What you will see next week is both the culmination of a recent period of intense activity but also launching a period that really underscores that the US-Japan relationship is entering a fundamentally new phase that will both bring new capabilities to bear … [and] clear responsibilities” on how the two countries engage, Campbell said in a discussion at the Centre for a New American Security, a think tank.

With Marcos also in Washington next week, “there will be an unprecedented trilateral engagement between [the] three nations”, Campbell added. Biden’s summit with Kishida and Marcos will be the first of its kind for the three countries.

“I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but I think it is fair to say that you will see commitments” on the part of all three nations involving “closer coordination and engagement in the South China Sea and elsewhere”, Campbell said.

Biden will host Kishida for a state visit to the United States on April 10.

When announcing the visit in January, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the two leaders would discuss “efforts to strengthen our political, security, economic and people-to-people ties” to improve Indo-Pacific security.

In a wide-ranging discussion about possible developments in the trilateral Aukus alliance – a military technology partnership between the US, Britain and Australia – and other security relationships that Washington has globally, Campbell said the US military needed to implement co-production of weapons with its allies.

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Russia “has almost completely reconstituted militarily” with economic support from China, he said, and, like other US government leaders, warned that this relationship underscored a strong linkage between threats in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.

“In the past, we have been … wary of certain kinds of co-production arrangements,” he added. “The circumstances increasingly demand that we work with trusted allies and partners even on the most sophisticated weapons that will increasingly be part of our combined arsenals.”

Avril Haines, director of US national intelligence, issued a similar warning in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last month.

“Growing cooperation and willingness to exchange aid in military, economic, political and intelligence matters [Russia, China, North Korea and Iran] enhances their individual capabilities,” Haines said.

Avril Haines, director of US national Intelligence, testifies at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats to American security on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 11. Photo: Reuters

“Russia’s need for support in the context of Ukraine has forced it to grant some long-time concessions to China, North Korea and Iran, with the potential to undermine … long-held non-proliferation norms.”

On the Aukus front, Campbell dangled the possibility that the alliance was considering the inclusion of other countries for at least part of its undertakings.

Unveiled in September 2021 with specific timelines clarified a year ago, Aukus has two main objectives, or what Campbell’s department calls “pillars”.

The first promises to equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, first via direct deliveries from the US and eventually through production in Australia using jointly developed technology.

Aukus’ “pillar two” paves the way for unprecedented sharing among the three on advanced technologies including “quantum, AI and autonomy, hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, electronic warfare, undersea warfare and cyber”.

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Campbell on Wednesday suggested other US allies may participate in the second pillar, although it was unclear how formalised that would become. More details on this were forthcoming, some during Kishida’s visit next week and more when the three Aukus defence chiefs meet later this year, he said.

“What we find as we scan the Indo-Pacific and other areas is that there are a number of countries that are undertaking critical research and development in areas that frankly could be very valuable,” the diplomat added.

“I think it was always believed when Aukus was launched that at some point we would welcome new countries to participate.”

Campbell said he would “wait to indicate some of the things that we might want to say in the fall about our trilateral work together in pillar two”.

Other countries had “expressed an interest” in taking part under certain circumstances, he noted, adding: “I think you’ll hear that we have something to say about that next week.”

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