Australia will push for Japan to be included as a quasi fourth member of the AUKUS security pact as it seeks to elevate its partnership with Tokyo to unprecedented heights, Defence Minister Richard Marles has declared.
In a speech in Tokyo, Marles said the AUKUS pact with the United States and the United Kingdom was a “capability and technology partnership, one which we hope will form part of a broader network Australia seeks to build in which Japan is central”.
From left: Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Defence Minister Richard Marles, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada in Tokyo on Friday.Credit: AP
“My intent is to grow defence industry integration with Japan: bilaterally, through our trilateral mechanisms with the United States, and, when ready, via our advanced capabilities work in AUKUS as well,” he said.
While there is no prospect of Japan acquiring nuclear-powered submarines under the pact, it could be included in the separate AUKUS work on undersea capabilities, cyber, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
Marles said both Japan and Australia had benefited from the United States’ network of alliances in the Asia-Pacific.
“But now we are poised to build the Japan-Australia relationship as a powerful force in its own right,” he said. “Australia’s relationship with Japan is foundational.”
A major Pentagon report released last week said China had doubled its nuclear arsenal in two years, while its military had increased “unsafe” and “unprofessional” military behaviour, especially in the Taiwan Strait.
Marles said China’s massive military expansion was drawing Australia and Japan into an increasingly tight bond after being enemies in World War II.
China’s military build-up was “occurring without transparency or reassurance to the region of China’s strategic intent”, he said.
“Over the last decade, China has sought to shape the world around it in a way that we have not seen before, and that gives rise to challenges for both Australia and Japan.
“And so the partnership between our two countries is now being elevated to an unprecedented level.”
In his speech, Marles also confirmed that Beijing and Canberra would soon restart regular military dialogues as the nations seek to stabilise their relationship following Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s meeting on the sidelines of the G20 last month with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
At meetings in Washington earlier this week, Australia and the United States agreed to integrate Japan more closely into their joint military activities in Australia.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.