U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has indicated that Japan is “about to become the first additional Pillar II partner” in AUKUS, the tri-nation partnership between Australia, the UK, and the United States.
This would be the first expansion of the tight-knit defence-sharing arrangement outside the original three partners, which includes working together on areas such as nuclear submarine propulsion and quantum technology.
In response, an Australian government source told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that Japan would collaborate on specific defence technology projects under AUKUS but would not necessarily join the partnership as a full member.
A spokesperson for Defence Minister Richard Marles declined to comment on Mr. Emanuel’s statement, which he wrote in an April 3 opinion article for The Wall Street Journal.
Pillar One of AUKUS involves Australia developing nuclear-powered conventionally armed submarines, utilising cutting-edge U.S. and UK technology.
Pillar Two is a mechanism for AUKUS partners to share advanced defence systems including quantum technology, hypersonic missiles, and artificial intelligence.
Announcement May Be This Week
Mr. Emanuel did not say when the official announcement would happen, but it seems likely that it will occur this week, when Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits Washington to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden, followed by a trilateral summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.“When President Biden and Mr. Kishida meet, they will mark a profound transformation in U.S.–Japan relations, as one era ends and another begins,” the ambassador wrote.
U.S. officials have already confirmed that Washington would “seriously consider” including Japan as a technology partner.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell all but confirmed an announcement would come this week, telling reporters that the United States, the UK, and Australia were open to other countries joining the arrangement.
“I think you'll hear that we have something to say about that next week,” Mr. Campbell said on April 3.
President Biden has sought to add and strengthen partnerships with U.S. allies in Asia, including Japan and the Philippines, amid Beijing’s military buildup and growing territorial ambitions.
The UK has repeatedly signalled that it is open to other countries joining Pillar Two, with its then chief of defence staff saying in 2021 that AUKUS was not designed as an “exclusive” arrangement and that nations such as Japan, New Zealand, and Canada could be involved in the future.
But while Australia has indicated that it is open to Japan collaborating with AUKUS, Mr. Marles suggested in February that it might be some time before that happened.
The defence minister noted that the current AUKUS members were “very much focused on working on new innovative technologies amongst the three countries.”
A senior U.S. official said any decisions about which countries would be involved in Pillar Two would be made by the three existing AUKUS members, whose defence ministers had been considering the questions for many months, based on what those countries could bring to the project.
The other country likely to be amongst the earliest to come on board is New Zealand, which made its interest very clear at bilateral meetings of its foreign and defence ministers with their Australian counterparts earlier this year.
Little has been announced since then, but it was revealed last week that New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins had met with major U.S. defence contractor Honeywell.
A briefing released under the Official Information Act said Honeywell Executive Chairperson Darius Adamczyk “has indicated he wishes to discuss AUKUS Pillar 2, space, and sustainable technologies.”
“Not a large supplier to Defence in New Zealand, we understand Honeywell is looking to invest to grow its activities in the region,” it states.A post by Ms. Collins on X said the meeting was “discussing defence, technology, science, and space.”
