The United States, United Kingdom and Australia have expanded AUKUS and Japan

The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom want to open the doors of a defense partnership launched in 2021 to new allies for the wider Indo-Pacific region. oh Financial Times It said on Sunday that the defense ministers of the three countries would begin talks on Monday, hoping to convince Japan to become the first non-institutionalized state to join AUKUS.

According to the British Economic JournalCiting sources with knowledge of the process, the plan only expands on AUKUS's so-called “second pillar” of sharing advanced military technology, such as quantum computing, hypersonic weaponry or artificial intelligence. Various armed forces.

In other words, at least for now, the three allies are not considering inviting new members to the “first pillar”, which is crucial and includes an ambitious plan to provide a fleet for the Australian Navy. Submarines. Powered by nuclear power from 2030, with the largest military investment in Australian history – 368 billion Australian dollars (about 223 billion euros) by 2055.

Launched three years ago by Joe Biden (President of the United States), Scott Morrison (Former Prime Minister of Australia) and Boris Johnson (Former Prime Minister of England), AUKUS is considered a military initiative by the United States and its allies. Within its wider neighborhood lies the People's Republic, within the confines of the geopolitical rivalry between Washington and Beijing.

About a year ago, the New Zealand government had already shown openness to assessing the possibility of joining the “second pillar” of AUKUS.

Released news FT It comes on a day when the navies of the United States, Australia, Japan and the Philippines begin “anti-submarine” military exercises in the South China Sea, one of the region's most disputed areas, where the Chinese government and several Southeast Asian countries have their presence. Territorial Claims.

According to sources cited by the British newspaper, Lloyd Austin (US), Grand Shops (United Kingdom) and Richard Marless (Australia), who are responsible for their respective defense portfolios, will announce on Monday, as well as the possibility of joining AUKUS's “second pillar” from Japan, Biden and the Japanese prime minister. Minister Fumio Kishida is on the agenda for a meeting scheduled for Wednesday at the White House.

The meeting is already expected to reach an agreement to expand defense cooperation between the United States and Japan to the highest level since the signing of the Treaty on Mutual Cooperation and Security in 1960.

The next day, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will join Biden and Kishida in a three-way summit in the US capital, where they will discuss, above all, what the three governments call “secure free navigation.” ” in the South China Sea.

In one Opinion essayPublished last Wednesday by Wall Street JournalEntitled A New Era in US-Japan RelationsAnd he also supported Japan's adherence to the “second pillar” of AUKUS, US Ambassador to Tokyo Rahm Emanuel highlighted that Japan is “positioning itself at the center of Washington's regional alliance strategy” and “becoming a full partner”. This “Indo-Pacific Strategy”.

“The geopolitical sands have shifted drastically in a few years. Until recently, skeptics predicted that the US would withdraw from the Indo-Pacific region, leaving a vacuum for China to fill. The opposite has happened”, the ambassador congratulated. While it is true that efforts must be made, Biden has strengthened America's claim as a permanent Pacific power.”