Washington —

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the US-UK-Australia trilateral security partnership known as “AUKUS” may soon be expanded to include other Indo-Pacific countries.

AUKUS was established in 2021 in response to China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Discussions about other countries joining the group or participating in so-called Pillar Two have been circulating for more than a year.

“There has been a belief that when AUKUS rolls out that at some point we will welcome new countries to participate, particularly in the second pillar area,” Campbell said Wednesday while speaking at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).

The first pillar of AUKUS is to provide Australia with a fleet of conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines, and second pillar That is cooperation in advanced capabilities such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, advanced network capabilities, hypersonic capabilities, electronic warfare and underwater capabilities.

Campbell added that other countries have also expressed interest in participating in AUKUS when the time comes.

“I think you’ll hear next week that we have something to say,” he said.

Next step for trilateral summit

Next week, US President Joe Biden will host a trilateral summit with Japan and the Philippines. Biden will also hold a bilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Campbell said the summit with Japan was expected to lead to a “historic” upgrade of security cooperation, including joint development of defense supplies.

According to Nikkei Asia, Campbell revealed on March 21 that the US-Japan talks are expected to discuss technical cooperation between Japan and AUKUS.

According to the report, Campbell said that Japan has made it “very clear” that it has no interest in participating in the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine project. But he said, “There are clearly areas where Japan can exert strong capabilities and play a role in security and technology to advance common goals in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Campbell told Nikkei Asia These areas include some work in advanced robotics, cyber planning and anti-submarine warfare.

At Wednesday’s event, Campbell noted that several countries in the Indo-Pacific region are conducting critical research and development in pillar two focus areas, including hypersonic capabilities, long-range strike, undersea capabilities and cyber.

Victim of IT comfort?

In recent years, as China’s provocations have continued to escalate, AUKUS has begun to set its sights on more countries.

During the “2+2” meeting between Japan and Australia in December 2022, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said that AUKUS might involve Japan.

In August 2023, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons stated that AUKUS should invite Japan and South Korea to join.

In November last year, during his visit to Australia, former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso suggested that Japan join the organization, which could be named JAUKUS. He said this would help send a unified signal on the Taiwan issue.

Australia and New Zealand also raised the possibility of New Zealand joining the second pillar of AUKUS after their ministerial meeting in February.

Malcolm Davis, senior analyst for defense strategy and capabilities at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), said the second pillar of AUKUS could draw on the strengths of Japan, New Zealand, Canada or even South Korea, but not necessarily Official member.

“Instead of having these countries become full members of AUKUS, they should join on a project-by-project basis in two pillar priority areas – such as robotics and artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, advanced undersea warfare, electronic warfare, quantum technologies and hypersonics, ” Davis told VOA via email.

“This also provides an opportunity to add some new priority areas – for example, space-related areas, where these countries can make a significant contribution.”

Bronte Munro, an analyst at ASPI’s Washington office, told VOA that Japan is increasingly suitable to join AUKUS, noting that Japan has undergone significant changes in defense policy in response to the Chinese threat. These include amendments to the law banning the export of lethal weapons.

Munro said that Japan’s advanced semiconductor manufacturing is critical to technology leadership, and Japan’s joining can help “more clearly ensure the security of the semiconductor supply chain for AUKUS partners.”

However, some circles are skeptical about the wisdom of expanding AUKUS, given the risks involved in sharing and transferring advanced technology.

Andrew Hastie, Australia’s opposition shadow defense minister told the US media Breaking Defense on March 28 that AUKUS should focus on the three countries already involved in the case to ensure a seamless “transfer of very sensitive secrets and intellectual property involved in the incident.” The core of the first and second pillars. “

When asked at the CNAS event whether Japan has established a security architecture that incorporates the second pillar of AUKUS, Campbell noted that the United States has engaged in “a series of engagements with Japan on the intelligence side and in the security realm to encourage what Japan will do.” Increasingly stringent campaigns to protect their intellectual property, holding government officials accountable for the secrets they trust.”

“It’s fair to say that Japan has taken some of these measures, but not all,” he said. “We believe that ultimately it is in our interest to share as much information and other technology as possible with close partners like Japan to build deeper and more fundamental alliances,” Campbell said.

He declared: “I think one of the things you’re going to see next week is that for the first time, the United States and Japan will be cooperating more on joint development and potentially co-production of important military and defense equipment.

“The U.S.-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of our engagement in the Indo-Pacific.”

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.