Australia to Join Missile Defence Pact With US and Japan

The move comes as Japan looks likely to take part in technology sharing under the AUKUS pact.
Australia to Join Missile Defence Pact With US and Japan
Naval vessels from the U.S., Japan, India and the Philippines conduct formation exercises and communication drills in the South China Sea, May 2019. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force/U.S. Navy
Jim Birchall
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Australia will move to strengthen military ties to counter a growing threat from Beijing in the Indo-Pacific by partnering with Japan and the United States to shore up a new air defence strategy.

Details of just what technology the strategy will incorporate have not been shared with the media, owing to their classified status.

“Today we announce our vision to co-operate on a networked air defence architecture among the United States, Japan, and Australia to counter growing air and missile threats,” said U.S. President Joe Biden, who has been in talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, on April 10.

Japan has been slated to join the second part of the AUKUS trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK, and the United States, which was first announced on Sept. 15, 2021.

Under AUKUS’s four-pillar system, “pillar two” concentrates on artificial intelligence, hypersonic missiles, undersea capabilities, and quantum technologies.

“Recognising Japan’s strengths and its close bilateral defence partnerships with all three countries we are considering cooperation with Japan on AUKUS pillar two advanced capability projects,” said Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and UK Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps.

Other countries have also expressed interest in pillar two of the pact, including New Zealand, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L), US President Joe Biden (C) and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at an AUKUS summit in San Diego (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L), US President Joe Biden (C) and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at an AUKUS summit in San Diego Leon Neal/Getty Images

No Formal Plans Yet: Australian PM

Whilst the joint statement appeared to affirm an alliance was on the cards, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on April 10 that there were no plans to formally expand the pact.
“What is proposed is to look at pillar two of AUKUS and look, project by project, whether there would be engagement,” Mr. Albanese said.

He did say Japan was a “natural candidate for that to occur.”

“We’ve already stepped up our defence relationship with Japan in agreements. What is not proposed is to expand the membership of AUKUS.”
An Iranian military boat patrols as a warship enters the Iranian waters prior to start of a joint naval drill of Iran, Russia and China in the Indian Ocean on March 12, 2024. (Iranian Army via AP)
An Iranian military boat patrols as a warship enters the Iranian waters prior to start of a joint naval drill of Iran, Russia and China in the Indian Ocean on March 12, 2024. Iranian Army via AP
Jim Birchall
Jim Birchall
Author
Jim Birchall has written and edited for several regional New Zealand publications. He was most recently the editor of the Hauraki Coromandel Post.
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