Japan not planning to join AUKUS: PM Fumio Kishida

Tokyo [Japan], May 24 (ANI): Japan is not currently going to join the AUKUS security alliance — Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States — but will develop partnerships with its member countries, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday.
“AUKUS is of great importance for stability and peace in the region. Our country supports it. Our country is not currently thinking about joining AUKUS. Australia, the UK, the US are important security and defense partners. We will strengthen cooperation with these countries in various forms and will continue to promote it,” Kishida told reporters following a Quad summit, as per Sputnik.
The Group is committed to significantly deepen cooperation and enhance interoperability, and in so doing strengthening security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. In particular, participants committed to finalizing a program of work in relation to advanced capabilities by early 2022.
It underscores that the three countries remain steadfast in support of the nuclear non-proliferation regime and its cornerstone, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. (ANI)