The United States has ruled out adding India or Japan to the latest trilateral security partnership AUKUS, which includes Australia and Britain, to meet the challenges of the 21st century in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
“The announcement of AUKUS last week was not meant to be an indication, and I think this is the message the President also sent to Macron (French President), that there is no one else who will be involved in security in the Indo-Pacific,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday.
Psaki while addressing a question of whether India and Japan whose leaders would be in Washington this week for the first in-person Quad Summit would be made part of the new security partnership. “AUKUS? What it becomes? JAUKUS? JAIAUKUS?” Psaki responded in lighter moments before answering the question.
The new trilateral alliance AUKUS is seen as an effort to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region and will let the US and the UK provide Australia with the technology to develop nuclear-powered submarines for the first time.
