Possible enlargement of the Indo-Pacific cooperation pact could leave China more isolated, with a more complex network of potential adversaries.

The relationship between the two Asian giants is already ‘complex and delicate’, despite their intertwined economies.

US officials acknowledge foreign anxiety over whether new partnerships under Indo-Pacific strategy will last if Trump becomes president.

Canberra insists the Aukus submarines are being acquired to strengthen Australia’s defence, and maintain that the nation will have sovereignty over the vessels.

Fumio Kishida says that in areas like semiconductors, AI, quantum computing and biotech, it is ‘increasingly important for the two countries to build resilience’ as the two allies work to counterbalance China.

Tokyo’s involvement would be limited to cooperation on developing advanced technologies, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday.

Move ‘disregards the risk of nuclear proliferation’ and would ‘intensify the arms race’ in the region, foreign ministry spokeswoman says.

Talks will relate to ‘Pillar II’ of the pact, covering quantum computing, undersea, hypersonic, AI and cyber technology, Financial Times reports, citing people in the know.

‘Unprecedented trilateral engagement’ for Washington, Tokyo and Manila when countries’ leaders meet next week, No 2 State Department official says.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters urged Beijing to respect Wellington’s right to an independent foreign policy, saying ‘Aukus is about looking after our own defence’.

Among the options are the co-production of submarines in Australia and the life extension of its Collins-class submarines, analysts say.

Australian defence minister Richard Marles said Canberra, London and Washington are ‘working at pace to make this happen’.

The subs – a key step in the Aukus security pact – will be quieter and stealthier than Australia’s existing fleet and will not carry nuclear weapons.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Australian counterpart Penny Wong that tariffs on wine were currently under review when they met on Wednesday.

Fierce resistance mounted by Australian unions against plans for a new submarine base shows the challenge facing the high-stakes defence project aimed at countering China’s influence.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit comes amid a tilt by New Zealand towards US and Australian defence policy, and concerns that Wellington could join Aukus.

Yanis Varoufakis says diplomacy is a ‘far better way’ for Canberra to engage with Beijing, and that the Aukus deal would ‘turbocharge a new Cold War’.

Southeast Asian nations typically avoid a zero-sum position between superpowers US and China, analysts say, despite growing Chinese influence in the region.

Deputy defence secretary used occasion to call for Washington to clear regulatory impediments to the full implementation of the Aukus alliance.

The remarks reiterate Singapore’s role as a ‘military access point’ for the US and Australia in Southeast Asia, observers say.

Japan’s ties with Australia and Aukus has grown amid tensions with China, but ‘complexities’ in the sharing of nuclear information means a ‘Jaukus’ bloc is unlikely.

While Canberra is keen to collaborate with Tokyo on the trilateral security partnership, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said it was ‘going to take some years’.