The leaders of the AUKUS partnership, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, have jointly announced that they are in discussions with leaders from Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea to explore cooperation in defense technology to enhance deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region.
On Tuesday, September 17, on the occasion of the third anniversary of AUKUS, the leaders of Australia, the UK, and the US issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to “promote a free, open, secure, and stable Indo-Pacific region,” acknowledging the significant progress made by the alliance since its establishment.
The statement highlighted that within the conventional nuclear submarine cooperation pillar (Pillar I), AUKUS is progressing in establishing Australia’s conventional armed nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) capability. Starting from the early 2030s, Australia will manage and operate its own fleet of conventional armed nuclear-powered submarines.
The UK and the US welcome Australian naval personnel to their submarine training schools and will integrate Australian personnel into the UK Ministry of Defence and US naval shipyards.
In August of this year, the AUKUS partners signed a historic international agreement on naval nuclear propulsion cooperation.
Once in effect, this agreement will enable AUKUS partners not only to share naval nuclear propulsion information but also allow the transfer of materials and equipment needed by Australia from the US and the UK to securely build, operate, and maintain its conventional nuclear-powered submarines.
The statement noted, “In order to drive innovation and achieve AUKUS objectives, Australia, the UK, and the US have made significant revisions to their export control systems, including reforms to the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).”
These critical reforms will facilitate billions of dollars in secure and free defense trade, while enhancing the defense industrial base of AUKUS member countries.
The leaders of Australia, the UK, and the US also announced ongoing discussions with Japan, Canada, South Korea, and New Zealand to establish the second pillar of AUKUS (Pillar II), focusing on advanced technological capabilities. This collaboration does not include nuclear submarines.
The statement mentioned, “AUKUS partners are exploring opportunities with Japan to enhance maritime domain awareness interoperability as an initial area of cooperation.” They added, “We are engaged in discussions with Canada, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea to identify potential collaboration in AUKUS Pillar II – advanced technological capabilities.”
According to the Japan Times, the Japanese government has announced plans to domestically produce autonomous underwater vehicles by 2030 and significantly increase spending on military drones.
International relations expert and Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo, Sebastian Maslow, stated, “Given Japan’s advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics, integrating Japan into AUKUS Pillar II is highly reasonable.”
Maslow pointed out that Japan and the US have also agreed to collaborate on other cutting-edge technologies, such as potential sharing within AUKUS of intercepting hypersonic weapon systems, including the Glide Phase Interceptor.
He added that Tokyo’s future contributions to the second pillar may encompass providing technologies such as anti-drone laser systems, electromagnetic barriers, and big data analytics.
Maslow highlighted that this integration reflects the strengthening militarization of regional security cooperation and the increasing power of US-led alliances.
He stated, “This development comes at a time when Tokyo and all AUKUS member countries are making progress in defense cooperation, including joint military exercises, force posture agreements, industrial integration, and technology projects.”
According to Reuters, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair stated during his visit to Tokyo this month that Canada is in discussions with AUKUS regarding potential membership, although details were not disclosed.
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters expressed that these discussions represent a continuation of New Zealand carefully and thoughtfully exploring collaboration within the AUKUS Pillar II agenda under successive governments, which holds significant strategic and economic significance for the country.
On September 15, 2021, Australia, the UK, and the US jointly announced the establishment of the AUKUS partnership. The primary objective of this military, diplomatic, and security alliance is for the UK and US to assist Australia in constructing a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. This alliance is also a crucial element of the new Indo-Pacific strategy led by the United States.