US and Australia announce agreement to work with Japan on defence technology
- US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese discuss Aukus and more in a joint White House briefing
- Biden ‘confident’ Congress will pass funding for Aukus subs, and that the alliance is an ‘anchor’ to peace and prosperity in region
US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced an agreement on Wednesday to cooperate with Japan on advanced defence technology, one of several initiatives meant to solidify the nations’ engagement in the Indo-Pacific to counter a more assertive China.
The US and Australia will explore trilateral defence cooperation with Japan including on unmanned aerial systems, the White House said: “Our cooperation will enhance interoperability and accelerate technology transfer in the rapidly emerging field of collaborative combat aircraft and autonomy.”
Additionally, Australia will participate for the first time in two US-Japanese military drills, the Yama Sakura exercise later this year and Keen Edge next year, both in Japan.
The announcement came as Biden and Albanese, who is making a state visit to Washington this week, held a joint news conference at the White House on Wednesday.
While the two leaders spoke on a range of international issues – including their joint support of Israel in the wake of the Hamas attack, and their aid and supplies to Ukraine in its war against Russia – they unsurprisingly addressed the development of their still-new Aukus alliance.
I’m confident that we’re going to be able to get money for Aukus, because it’s overwhelmingly in our interest
Aukus – a trilateral security partnership of Australia, the US and Britain – has drawn criticism from China ever since it was announced in September 2021. Beijing said the pact arose from a “Cold War mentality” which would spur an arms race and harm regional stability and peace.
