The UK, America and Australia have announced on Monday that they are contemplating collaborating with Japan under their Aukus security agreement. This initiative aims to provide a counterbalance to China’s expanding authority in the Indo-Pacific region. This year, the three Aukus partners and other nations, including Japan, are scheduled to begin discussions on potential future collaboration.
A forthcoming summit between the US President Joe Biden and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, is likely to take into account possible future participation of Japan in Aukus’ “advanced capabilities” programmes. However, experts indicate that Japan’s involvement could face hurdles, as there’s a necessity for improved cyber-defence measures and stricter confidentiality rules.
Formed in 2021, the Aukus agreement is seen as a means to respond to China’s expanding influence. The agreement’s initial phase aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines. It is not suggested that Japan would engage in this part of the scheme.
The pact’s second aspect focuses on shared technologies across several fields including quantum computing, undersea tech, hypersonic, AI and cybersecurity. With Japan’s strength and its bilateral defence associations with all three nations, it is being considered as a potential collaborator for the Aukus “Pillar II advanced capability projects,” according to a joint statement by the UK, the US, and Australia issued by the British government.
The same joint statement emphasises that Aukus members aim to involve other countries in the pact’s second phase. Factors such as innovation, financing, industrial abilities, the protection of sensitive data, and the promotion of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region would be taken into account.
China has criticised the Aukus pact as dangerous, cautioning it could incite a regional arms race. As of Monday, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, stated that no decisions on cooperation with Aukus have been made.
The “Pillar II” of Aukus is already encountering challenges due to US constraints on sharing technical secrets with the UK and Australia. Bill Greenwalt, an ex-senior Pentagon official, claimed that it’s too early to contemplate Japanese involvement.
Mr Greenwalt, currently a senior associate at the American Enterprise Institute, expressed that if the integration with the UK and Australia in relation to Aukus cannot be accomplished, they stand no chance of doing so with Japan. He further noted that the country’s security mechanism remains undeveloped and complacent. Earlier this year, Japan declared its intention to enact an economic security law that will categorise additional information as confidential. This would require employees in companies with access to such information to go through security vetting procedures, as reported by Reuters.