Japan’s Ambassador to Australia Yamagami Shingo has said that Tokyo may host the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) nuclear-powered submarines currently being acquired under the trilateral AUKUS arrangement.
“In the future, Japan may also be playing host to Australian nuclear submarines. So measures are already in place to receive them should they come,” Shingo said during a keynote speech at the Advancing AUKUS Conference at Canberra’s National Press Club on Monday.
Japan already hosts US nuclear-powered submarines under the 1951 mutual defense treaty.
The Japanese diplomat further described Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines as a “critically important point” which enhanced “regional deterrence”.
While claiming that rumors on whether Japan will join AUKUS were "premature", Shingo informed that Tokyo is open to "extend cooperation" with AUKUS-related projects such as artificial intelligence and autonomy, quantum technologies, undersea capabilities, advanced cyber, electronic warfare, and hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities.
He likewise remarked that Tokyo is already involved in boosting security partnerships with all three AUKUS partners. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida signed a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a visit to Australia last month.
“The most significant development from that new document was the promise to consult one another on any regional contingencies that may arise in the future,” the ambassador remarked.
He recalled that both countries also signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement in January, going on to describe 2022 as the “watershed year” in forging a “new security dynamic” between Canberra and Tokyo.
With regard the United Kingdom, Shingo noted that both capitals are involved in negotiations to “merge” their fighter aircraft programs and have already started research on a Joint New Air-to-Air Missile (JNAAM).
He similarly highlighted that the US is the most important security partner for Japan, noting that the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet is based out of Yokosuka, besides pointing out the stationing of the forces at Yokota Air Base as well as over 50,000 US troops in the country.
“All this emphasis on alliances, relationships and agreements shows that any arrangement involving the defense ties between Australia, the US and the UK is bound to influence Japan’s defense and security sectors – in other words, what matters to you, matters to us too,” Shingo stated.
The remarks came ahead of the participation of the AUKUS countries at the G20 Summit in Bali, which will also be attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Speaking at the East Asia Summit in Phnom Peng last week, Kishida accused Beijing of escalating “regional tensions” and infringing upon Japan’s sovereignty in the East China Sea, where Tokyo and Beijing are involved in a maritime dispute.
Tensions between China and AUKUS partners escalated in the wake of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, which led to Beijing holding its largest live-fire and hypersonic missile drills in the Taiwan Strait. Australia, Japan and the US described the Chinese drills as “destabilizing”.