TOKYO, Sept 13 (Askume) – Canada is discussing joining the expanded AUKUS agreement between the United States, Britain and Australia to counter China’s growing military influence in the Asia-Pacific region, Defence Minister Bill Blair said.
Canada has said it wants to join the second pillar of AUKUS, which would cooperate on new military technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, but has not provided any details of those talks.
“There was significant discussion on project-specific processes and forums in which Japan and other countries, including us, can participate,” Blair said in an interview while meeting Japanese Foreign Minister Minoru Kihara in Tokyo.
“I will respectfully await their decision, but I am very optimistic,” he said.
Blair said he and Kihara discussed AUKUS and the company is already considering cooperation with Japan. The three founding members of AUKUS are working on early-stage nuclear submarine technology for Australia.
Blair, who arrived in Tokyo from South Korea on his first visit to Japan as defense secretary, is also talking up the role of AUKUS .
Canada is seeking a greater security role in Asia and prioritizing deeper ties with Japan and South Korea. The country is increasing military spending as domestic and foreign defense commitments grow.
Blair said, “Next year my defence budget will be 27% higher than this year and, frankly, our defence spending will triple in the next three to four years.”
He and Kihara also discussed China’s incursions into Japanese territory, which led to protests against Beijing in Tokyo last month.
Blair said concerns about China’s military activities were likely to be discussed at a meeting of G7 defence ministers in Italy next month.
“This is an important opportunity for us to engage in dialogue with our G7 partners on some activities that are of great interest to Japan, Canada, the United States and other countries.”
(Paragraph 6 of this story has been corrected to say this is the minister’s first visit to Japan, not the second)
