The United States has ruled out adding India or Japan to the new trilateral security partnership with Australia and Britain to address 21st century challenges in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

Watch | What is AUKUS?

On September 15, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson jointly announced the formation of the AUKUS trilateral security alliance under which Australia would first obtain a fleet nuclear powered submarines.

Also Read: AUKUS Highlights India’s Own Submarine Development Efforts & Delays

“The AUKUS announcement last week was not meant to be any indication, and I think it 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 press conference on September 22, 2021.

Ms Psaki was responding to a question of whether countries like India and Japan whose leaders are in Washington this week for the first in-person Quad Summit would be part of the new security alliance.

The Quad includes India, the United States, Japan and Australia. US President Joe Biden is hosting the first in-person Quad Summit at the White House on September 24.

Read also: News analysis | AUKUS seeks to reshape Indo-Pacific relations

“Friday… you will have the Australians there (for the Quad Summit). But you will also have India and Japan. Would you consider a military role for them similar to the one you have now defined with the Australians?” asked a reporter.

“AUKUS? What would become of him? JAUKUS? JAIAUKUS?” Psaki said in lighter moments before answering the question.

The AUKUS trilateral security alliance, seen as an effort to counter China in the Indo-Pacific, will allow the US and UK to provide Australia with the technology needed to develop sub-funds for the first time. -nuclear-powered navies.

Strong reaction from China, France

China has sharply criticized the trilateral alliance, saying such an exclusive grouping has no future and will seriously undermine regional stability, worsen the arms race and undermine international non-proliferation efforts.

The move also angered France, a European ally of the United States, who claimed to have been “stabbed in the back” and publicly expressed outrage at the AUKUS alliance. He recalled his ambassador to the United States and Australia after the announcement of the AUKUS security agreement. France also lost a lucrative contract to build conventional submarines for Australia.

Meanwhile, in a bid to strengthen ties, President Joe and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron agreed on Wednesday that “open consultations” between allies on issues of strategic interest to France would have helped improve the situation.

Mr. Biden and Mr. Macron have decided to open a process of in-depth consultations, aimed at creating the conditions to ensure confidence and propose concrete measures towards common goals, said a joint statement after their meeting.

“Of course, this is an important topic in conversations with the French, with a range of countries that have a vested interest in the region,” Ms. Psaki said at the White House briefing on September 23, 2021.