Korea being considered as potential Aukus partner, along with Japan

Defense

Published: 10 Apr. 2024, 15:51

Korea being considered as potential Aukus partner, along with Japan

U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the Aukus partnership, after a trilateral meeting at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California on March 13, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The U.S. government announced Wednesday that Korea, among other countries, is being considered as a partner for Aukus — a military alliance of the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia — to cooperate in the development of cutting-edge military technology.

This comes after Aukus issued a joint statement saying the three countries are considering adding Japan as a partner for Pillar II projects.

According to sources within the Foreign Ministry, the Korean government is open to participation in Aukus’s Pillar II, which aims to jointly develop military capabilities in eight fields, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity and hypersonic missiles.

Aukus, launched in September 2021 to keep China in check in the Indo-Pacific region, consists of two key pillars: Pillar I, supporting Australia in acquiring conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines, and Pillar II, for cooperation in high-tech areas.

“The Aukus partners are considering a range of additional partners who may bring unique strengths to Pillar II, including the ROK, Canada and New Zealand, in addition to Japan,” a senior official at the United States White House National Security Council (NSC) said. ROK stands for Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

This is the first time that Aukus has explicitly mentioned that Korea is being considered as a Pillar II cooperative partner.

In a joint statement the day before, the defense chiefs of the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia officially mentioned Japan as a Pillar II partner for the first time.

“Recognizing Japan’s strengths and its close bilateral defense partnerships with all three countries, we are considering co-operation with Japan on Aukus Pillar II advanced capability projects,” the defense ministers of the three countries said in a statement released in conjunction with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s state visit to the United States that began on Wednesday.

The fact that Korea, an ally of the United States, already has strengths in the field of advanced technology and is cooperating with the United Kingdom and Australia is expected to be taken into consideration regarding Aukus's consensus on Korea’s participation in Pillar II.

Previously, the British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee urged the British government in a report last year to “propose to the United States and Australia that Korea and Japan join Aukus’s defense technology cooperation agreement.”

Once a consensus is formed within Aukus, formal discussions on participation in Pillar II are expected to be held with the Korean government.

If discussions on Korea joining the Pillar II begin in earnest, it is expected that China’s opposition to the program will strengthen.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has expressed "grave concerns" about Japan's participation in the Aukus Pillar II.

“We oppose relevant countries cobbling together exclusive groupings and stoking bloc confrontation,” China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said during a press briefing on Monday. “Japan needs to earnestly draw lessons from history and stay prudent on military and security issues.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]