Discussions About Adding More AUKUS Partners Will Take Months, US Official Says
Japan is just one of “several additional partners” that Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. are considering involving under a portion of the AUKUS partnership that calls for greater defense trade collaboration, a senior U.S. administration official told reporters this week.
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The official said it could take months before any new, formal AUKUS decisions are made, including potentially adding Japan. “We expect the consultations will take a period of months, and it will take a portion of the 2024 calendar year before the AUKUS pillar two vision is fully fleshed out, that is with us being able to assign specific partners to specific pillar two projects,” the official said.
The official's comments came one day after the U.S., Australia and the U.K. announced they were considering involving Japan in the partnership (see 2404090011).
After an April 10 meeting between President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington, the two countries said in a joint statement that the AUKUS nations are "considering cooperation with Japan," and Biden said during a press conference that the three countries are still “exploring” how best to involve Japan. Kishida added that “nothing has been decided at this moment.”