Japan could host Australian nuclear submarines – envoy

Tokyo needs to cooperate with the AUKUS alliance between Australia, the US and the UK

Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines is critically essential for regional safety, and Japan is able to provide its experience and amenities, the nation’s ambassador to Canberra instructed the ‘Advancing AUKUS’ convention on Monday.

Shingo Yamagami known as Australia Japan’s most essential army ally, beside the United States.

While in a roundabout way calling China a risk, the envoy stated Tokyo was “a frontline state facing challenging circumstances in the dangerous neighborhood of Southeast Asia,” explaining to the viewers on the National Press Club in Canberra why “AUKUS matters to us a lot.”

Back in 2021, the US, Australia, and the UK introduced the creation of the so-called AUKUS safety pact, which envisages offering Canberra with conventionally armed and nuclear-powered submarines, thus considerably boosting its naval capabilities.

Last month, Australia signed a separate settlement with Japan to deepen their safety cooperation, together with joint army coaching and intelligence sharing. “This makes Australia Japan’s most important defense and security alliance… outside of the United States,” ambassador Yamagami stated.

“In the future, Japan may also be playing host to Australian nuclear submarines,” the envoy stated in accordance with remarks he later shared on Twitter. “Japan for many years has played host to visits by US Navy nuclear submarines… So measures are already in place to receive them should they come.”

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“Japan’s co-operation with AUKUS holds great potential… Such submarines will increase regional deterrence,” he added.

China has repeatedly criticized the AUKUS alliance, arguing that its initiatives pose grave dangers to regional stability and nuclear safety. This view has to some extent been echoed by Russia. In August, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu warned that AUKUS might “detonate” the complete Asia-Pacific area, because the pact has the makings of changing into “a military-political alliance.” 

On Sunday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov introduced up AUKUS for instance of Washington and its allies making an attempt to militarize the Asia-Pacific area. Those actions aren’t simply “obviously aimed at containing China” but in addition “resisting Russia’s interests in the Asia-Pacific,” the minister stated.