The United States, Australia and Britain indicated Monday they will officially consider Japan's push to be included in the AUKUS military pact between the three nations.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L) speaks as U.S. President Joe Biden (C), and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak discuss the AUKUS initiative at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego on March 13, 2023. The three countries indicated Monday they are considering Japan for inclusion in the Indo-Pacific defense pact.

Japan's possible inclusion in the "pillar" of the pact seeking to bolster defense technology collaboration to counter China's growing naval presence in the Indo-Pacific region is now on the table, the three countries said in a joint statement.

The AUKUS strategic partnership was formed in 2021 in response to increasing Chinese military provocations in the region. "Pillar I," the centerpiece of the pact, focuses on the acquisition of a nuclear submarine capability for Australia, while "Pillar II" seeks to spur the development of a range of advanced defense capabilities in areas such as artificial intelligence and hypersonic missiles across all three nations.

Japan could be a good fit for inclusion in Pillar II, according to Monday's statement from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, British Defense Minister Grant Shapps and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles.

"Recognizing Japan's strengths and its close bilateral defense partnerships with all three countries, we are considering cooperation with Japan on AUKUS Pillar II advanced capability projects," they wrote.

Marles said in February he was seeking to include Japan in the agreement.

"I think it is natural that we would be talking about a greater level of cooperation between the three countries -- U.S., UK and Australia -- and Japan, in terms of joint collaborations going forward," he told Japan's Kyodo News.

"As Pillar Two becomes more mature, which is going to take some years... I think there is an opportunity at that point to look at how we can cooperate with Japan in relation to that," he said.

The topic of Japan joining AUKUS is also likely to be on the agenda when Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in a Washington summit on Wednesday, Japanese media reported.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will also join the summit to discuss enhanced cooperation on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday.

"The leaders are expected to announce new initiatives across a range of important issues during this historic trilateral meeting," he said. "It's the first ever at the leader level, and so we're going to look to find ways to continue to deepen the collaboration with our closest partners, again, to ensure a free, open, prosperous, secure Indo-Pacific."

The United States, Japan and the Philippines "are three closely aligned maritime democracies with increasingly convergent strategic objectives, interests, and, frankly, concerns in areas like the South China Sea," Kirby added.

Canada could join Aukus defence pact as Trudeau considers nuclear sub patrols in Arctic waters

Justin Trudeau said it was really important to strengthen alliances 

Canada is considering joining the Aukus pact and believes it may need nuclear submarines to patrol its Arctic waters, Justin Trudeau has said.

The Canadian prime minister said on Monday that he had already held “excellent conversations” with the US, UK and Australia over joining the alliance.

Aukus, launched in September 2021, is a defence alliance focused on sharing nuclear submarine technology, which in 2023 announced intentions to help Australia build its first vessels.

Canada would become the fourth member of the pact, which is now looking at sharing information on technology, AI and the construction of new weapons.

The country has been floated as a possible contender for membership by several high-profile figures from member states, including Boris Johnson, who was in office as UK prime minister when the alliance launched.

Mr Trudeau said it was “really important that allies, particularly across the Indo-Pacific, work together in a stronger and tighter ways”, in a nod towards the alliance’s threat from China.

Supporters of Canada’s membership have said that the country’s supply of critical natural minerals would allow the UK, US and Australia to be less reliant on exports from China.

The announcement came as Mr Trudeau launched a new defence policy document that included calls for the purchase of conventionally powered submarines and left open the prospect of a nuclear model.

“We will be looking at what type of submarines are most appropriate for Canada’s responsibility in protecting the longest coastline in the world, and certainly the longest Arctic coastline in the world,” he said.

The paper set out significant investment in the Canadian armed forces but did not establish how the country planned to reach the Nato defence spending target of two per cent of GDP.

In February 2024, Mr Johnson and Liz Truss, his successor, backed a paper from the Legatum Institute calling for Canada’s membership to be fast-tracked to “strengthen the West’s collective defences”.

Mr Johnson said Canada was the “most obvious next candidate” because it had “fought – often heroically – for freedom”.