AUKUS allies float path for Japan to join tech sharing pact

The U.S. is inviting Japan to be a potential partner on part of the trilateral AUKUS pact that aims to deepen top-secret technology sharing and joint development on advanced defense capabilities.

The White House on Wednesday, during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s state visit at the White House, floated Japan’s entry into the second pillar of the pact in a joint statement. While the first pillar would see the U.S. and Britain help Australia develop its own nuclear-powered submarine fleet , the second aims to jumpstart cooperation on emerging defense technologies.

During a joint address to Congress on Thursday, Kishida highlighted U.S.-Japanese cooperation on some of the key technologies the agreement seeks to enhance.

“Just yesterday, President [Joe] Biden and I demonstrated our commitment to leading the world on the development of the next generation of emerging technologies, such as AI, quantum, semiconductors, biotechnology and clean energy,” he told U.S. lawmakers.

Biden and Kishida announced a slew of new defense cooperation agreements between their two countries in a joint statement Wednesday. And while the statement opens up a door for Japan to join AUKUS Pillar II, Kishida did not formally commit to joining.

“For Japan, to have a direct cooperation with AUKUS, nothing has been decided at this moment,” Kishida said at a press conference with Biden at the White House.

Australian Minister for Defense Industry Patrick Conroy and British Vice Adm. Martin Connell, the U.K. Royal Navy Second Sea Lord, both spoke favorably about Japan possibly joining the agreement during the Sea Air Space defense conference in Washington on Monday.

Vice Adm. Rob Gaucher, who command U.S. submarine forces in the Atlantic, said during the conference “we already share a ton of technology with Japan and they’re a great partner in the Pacific,” pointing to Tokyo’s unmanned capabilities.

‘Getting the basics of AUKUS right’

AUKUS is still in its nascent stages, and the three participating countries are seeking consensus on overhauling their export control regimes, which critics say inhibit the information and technology sharing crucial to deepening collaboration among their respective defense industries.

“The Biden administration has to get the basics of AUKUS right before it expands the pact to other partners,” Sen. James Risch, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, said in statement Wednesday, noting the State Department still needs to submit a certification to give Australia and Britain broad exemptions to U.S. export control laws.

“Without this certification, cooperation on advanced technologies under AUKUS — the very types of military capabilities needed to counter China — will remain stymied by regulations and bureaucracy,” he added. “Rather than take credit for things it has not yet done, the Biden administration should certify our two closest allies and deliver tangible defense capabilities now. Adding more partners delays capabilities and fails to deter China.”

The fiscal 2024 defense policy bill , which Congress passed in December , would give Australia and Britain a carveout in Washington’s International Traffic in Arms Regulation, or ITAR. Canada is currently the only country to enjoy a blanket ITAR exemption.

But to receive this, the State Department must certify Canberra and London have passed comparable export control laws of their own so U.S. technology does not fall into the hands of adversaries like China.

Australia’s parliament is considering legislation to enhance its export control laws, but some Australian defense firms fear stricter regulations will inhibit their ability to do business with non-AUKUS countries, like Japan.

For his part, Kishida did not directly mention AUKUS in his address to Congress, which largely centered on urging lawmakers to continue supporting Ukraine and playing a leading role in the Indo-Pacific.

“As we meet here today, I detect an undercurrent of self-doubt among some Americans about what your role in the world should be,” said Kishida. “As I often say, Ukraine of today may be East Asia of tomorrow.”

Bryant Harris is the Congress reporter for Defense News. He has covered U.S. foreign policy, national security, international affairs and politics in Washington since 2014. He has also written for Foreign Policy, Al-Monitor, Al Jazeera English and IPS News.

美国邀请日本成为三方 AUKUS 条约的潜在合作伙伴，该条约旨在深化绝密技术共享和先进国防能力的联合开发。

周三，在日本首相岸田文雄对白宫进行国事访问期间，白宫发表联合声明，提出日本加入该协议第二支柱的可能性。第一支柱将由美国和英国帮助澳大利亚发展其核动力潜艇舰队，而第二支柱旨在加速新兴国防技术领域的合作。

周四，岸田在向国会发表联合讲话时，重点介绍了美日两国在协议旨在加强的一些关键技术领域的合作。

“就在昨天，我和拜登总统展现了我们致力于引领世界发展下一代新兴技术（如人工智能、量子技术、半导体、生物技术和清洁能源）的决心，”他告诉美国议员。

拜登和岸田在周三的联合声明中宣布了两国间一系列新的防务合作协议。虽然该声明为日本加入“奥库斯第二支柱”协议敞开了大门，但岸田并未正式承诺加入。

“目前，日本是否与AUKUS进行直接合作，还没有做出任何决定，”岸田在白宫与拜登共同举行的新闻发布会上说。

澳大利亚国防工业部长帕特里克·康罗伊和英国皇家海军第二海务大臣马丁·康奈尔海军中将周一在华盛顿举行的海空空间防御会议上都对日本可能加入该协议表示了积极态度。

美国驻大西洋潜艇部队司令罗伯·高彻海军中将在会议上表示，“我们已经与日本分享了大量技术，而且他们在太平洋地区是一个很棒的合作伙伴”，他指的是东京的无人作战能力。

“掌握AUKUS的基本知识”

AUKUS 仍处于起步阶段，三个参与国正在寻求就改革其出口管制制度达成共识。批评人士称，这些制度阻碍了信息和技术共享，而信息和技术共享对于深化各自国防工业之间的合作至关重要。

“拜登政府必须先把 AUKUS 协议的基本框架完善好，才能将该协议扩展到其他伙伴，”参议院外交关系委员会首席共和党参议员詹姆斯·里施周三在一份声明中表示，并指出国务院仍需提交一份认证文件，以给予澳大利亚和英国广泛的美国出口管制法律豁免。

他补充道：“如果没有这项认证，根据‘奥库斯’协议开展的先进技术合作——正是应对中国所需的军事能力——将继续受到繁文缛节的阻碍。拜登政府与其邀功自傲，不如先认证我们最亲密的两个盟友，并立即交付切实的防御能力。增加合作伙伴只会延缓能力建设，也无法有效威慑中国。”

国会去年12月通过的2024财年国防政策法案将给予澳大利亚和英国在华盛顿的《国际武器贸易条例》（ITAR）下的豁免权。目前，加拿大是唯一享有ITAR全面豁免权的国家。

但要获得这项授权，国务院必须证明堪培拉和伦敦已经通过了类似的出口管制法律，以防止美国技术落入中国等对手手中。

澳大利亚议会正在考虑立法加强其出口管制法律，但一些澳大利亚国防公司担心更严格的规定会限制它们与非AUKUS国家（如日本）开展业务的能力。

岸田在向国会发表讲话时，并没有直接提及奥库斯，他的讲话主要集中在敦促议员们继续支持乌克兰，并在印太地区发挥领导作用。

“今天我们在此相聚，我察觉到一些美国人内心深处对自身在世界上的角色感到怀疑，”岸田说。“正如我常说的，今天的乌克兰可能就是明天的东亚。”

布莱恩特·哈里斯是《防务新闻》的国会记者。自2014年以来，他一直在华盛顿报道美国外交政策、国家安全、国际事务和政治。他还曾为《外交政策》、《Al-Monitor》、《半岛电视台英语频道》和IPS新闻撰稿。