The United States, Australia and Britain are considering working with Japan on the joint development of advanced defense technologies through their trilateral security partnership, the grouping's defense ministers said Monday, as part of efforts to counter China's military expansion.
"Recognizing Japan's strengths and its close bilateral defense partnerships with all three countries, we are considering cooperation with Japan on AUKUS Pillar II advanced capability projects," a joint statement released by the defense chiefs of the three countries said.
The second pillar of the three-way partnership, known as AUKUS, is focused on cooperation on various new technologies such as hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
While the partnership, formed in 2021, has no plans to seek collaboration with Japan or any other country on its first pillar, aimed at delivering nuclear-powered submarines to Canberra, some officials have been pushing to include Tokyo in projects for the other pillar.
During a press conference in Canberra on Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said no proposals had been made to expand the membership of AUKUS, but Japan is a "natural candidate" to be part of the second pillar.
In the run-up to an official meeting on Wednesday between U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington, high-ranking officials in Biden's administration, such as U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, have been advocating for Tokyo's participation.
Among other agreements to be announced, demonstrating the robust U.S.-Japan relationship, Biden and Kishida are set to confirm that the bilateral alliance will continue reinforcing its networked relations with like-minded partners including Australia and Britain, according to officials preparing for the summit.
It is almost certain that Biden and Kishida will discuss Japan's potential involvement in the trilateral partnership's second pillar, at a time when countries such as Canada and New Zealand have also expressed interest in such collaboration.
Nonetheless, AUKUS and Japanese officials suggested there is still a long way to go before any potential participation by Japan. Some AUKUS officials have been concerned about Japan's ability to protect the grouping's highly sensitive information.
Some Japanese officials have also voiced reservations about too quickly expanding such cooperation on cutting-edge technologies with countries other than Tokyo's sole security treaty ally the United States.
"Strengthening security and defense cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia is important for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, and our country has consistently backed the efforts of AUKUS," Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Kihara added he recognizes that Tokyo's potential cooperation on the second pillar "will be considered by the AUKUS side."
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning expressed concern over the AUKUS cooperation with Japan, saying at a press conference Tuesday that Tokyo should "abandon the practice of forming a small military and security circle, and truly pursue the path of peaceful development."
Referring to Japan's past military aggression in the Asia-Pacific region, Mao said Tokyo should earnestly reflect on its history.
The joint statement also said the United States, Australia and Britain are confident that expanding collaboration on the second pillar with like-minded partners will strengthen their pursuit of regional stability.
But it also said, "In identifying collaboration opportunities, we will take into account factors such as technological innovation, financing, industrial strengths, ability to adequately protect sensitive data and information, and impact on promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region."
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