Mumbai: The United States has ruled out adding India or Japan to the newly created security partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom in the Indo-Pacific known as the AUKUS.
On 15 September, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the tripartite security alliance AUKUS, under which Australia would get a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
“The AUKUS announcement last week was not meant to be a sign, and I think the president has sent a message to (French President Emmanuel) Macron as well, that there is no one else who will be involved in security in the Indo-Pacific,” White House Key Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday.
Psaki was responding to a question whether countries like India and Japan, whose leaders will be in the city for the Quad summit this week, would be made part of the security alliance.
The quad includes India, the US, Japan and Australia. The US is hosting the in-person quad summit in Washington on September 24.
“On Friday? you’ll have the Australians there (for the Quad summit). But then you also have India and Japan. Would you envision for them a similar kind of military role that you’ve now defined for with the Australians?? a journalist asked?
“AUKUS? What would it become? JAUKUS? JAIAUKUS?? Psaki said in lighter moments before giving an answer to the question.
France had criticised its exclusion from the alliance, saying it reflects a lack of coherence when common challenges are being faced in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Of course, it’s an important topic in conversations with the French, with a range of countries who have a direct interest in the region,? she said.
The trilateral security alliance, seen as an effort to counter China in the Indo-Pacific, will allow the US and UK to provide Australia with technology to develop nuclear-powered submarines for the first time.
China has sharply criticized the trilateral alliance, saying such a grouping has no future and would seriously undermine regional stability, fuel an arms race and harm international non-proliferation efforts.
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