Will India be added to AUKUS submarine deal? White House ends speculation

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki while interacting with reporters at a daily conference on Wednesday informed that neither India nor Japan would be a part of the AUKUS alliance. "AUKUS? What would it become? JAUKUS? JAIAUKUS?” joked Psaki while answering the question of involving both the countries along with Australia in the military role as all the mentioned countries will come together on Friday for the Quad summit. AUKUS is a trilateral security alliance between the US, UK and Australia to counter China in the Indo-Pacific.

US rules out involving India or Japan in AUKUS

"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 (French President Emmanuel) Macron, that there is no one else who will be involved in security in the Indo-Pacific," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday.

However, President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron had later agreed upon “open consultations” among allies on matters of strategic interest to France after the latter expressed anger by recalling its ambassador to the US as well as Australia. 

What is AUKUS and how did world leaders react to the announcement?

The security alliance of AUKUS was announced altogether by the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia along with the President of the US. The submarine partnership is defined as a new trilateral defence partnership developed with a vision for a safer and more secure Indo-Pacific. In the joint statement, the three heads of the state, in their first statement had asserted that it would work together to encourage greater information and technological cooperation. Apart from the security and defence, the countries would also cooperate in science, technology, industrial bases, and supply chains.

Meanwhile, as soon as the announcement was made, China's expected opposition had come with anger from France and the EU as they were excluded from the pact. On the other hand, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had welcomed the move while stating that Australian nuclear submarines will be banned from New Zealand waters. India had refrained from making any immediate comment on the matter. Australian High Commissioner Barry O'Farrell on September 17 had said that India was informed regarding the new development. 

(With PTI inputs)