SYDNEY: Australia, Britain and the United States on Tuesday said they were considering to cooperate with Japan on the AUKUS security pact, just hours before the US president was to hold a meeting with his Japanese counterpart.
The AUKUS partners in a statement, said Japan’s strengths and its close bilateral defence collaboration with the countries meant it was eligible to join the security pact.
It said since the creation of AUKUS, all the partners have been clear in their intent to engage others in Pillar II projects as their work progresses.
The statement said over the past two and a half years, the countries have developed strong, trilateral foundation for delivering advanced military capabilities at fast pace.
AUKUS was established in 2021 and has two main goals: the objective of Pillar I is to provide Australia with a fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines.
While Pillar II aims on developing advanced war capabilities such as AI, undersea drones and hypersonic missiles.
According to the statement, the group would review technological innovation, financing, industrial strengths, and the ability to sufficiently protect sensitive data and information.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told journalists in Canberra on Tuesday that Japan’s involvement would only be for Pillar II of the security pact and not a broader membership.
“Japan is a natural candidate for that,” he said.
The statement comes just hours before Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was scheduled to meet US President Joe Biden at a summit where the two leaders are likely to address Japan’s possible future in AUKUS.
