Three years ago, the US, the UK, and Australia announced a tangible advance in the fight against China’s growing aggression and the most significant military technology sharing pact in decades: AUKUS.
At its heart was a simple notion—that the most sensitive military secrets could be shared only among countries with the strongest diplomatic, political and emotional ties.
One of the agreement’s headline achievements will be to build the most advanced submarine the world has ever seen: SSN-AUKUS. This is the aspect that has attracted most attention and generated much of the debate.
But AUKUS is about much more than submarines. Its second pillar aims to develop and share advanced military technology. This will deliver the fastest and most exciting results, from hypersonic missiles to underwater drones.
This pillar has been in the limelight in recent months over the question of its expansion to further countries. Japan was mentioned a few months ago by AUKUS states as a likely candidate for participation. This makes some sense. Its defense industry already collaborates closely with the US on equipment such as interceptor missiles and would bring valuable expertise to the table. But it is not the only possible addition to Pillar 2.
Last week, AUKUS members announced that Canada, South Korea, and New Zealand could also be included. This excellent news is encouraging for the future of the agreement.
Canada in particular holds great promise given its world-leading expertise in many areas covered by Pillar 2 such as artificial intelligence, counter-hypersonic missile technology, and cyber.
Some Canadian strengths are not explicitly covered by AUKUS but would nevertheless be essential to the development and success of the agreement. Most prominent among those are the True North’s vast reserves of critical minerals—and its capacity to extract, process, and recycle them. Ottawa’s recent critical minerals strategy, which aims to further develop mining and processing infrastructure, further strengthens its appeal.
Many of the critical minerals found in Canada are used in the defense industry, including cobalt, nickel, and vanadium. Canadian participation in Pillar 2 will ensure greater resilience of AUKUS supply chains on this front.
Canadian geography might also be a factor. Its access to and knowledge of the Arctic will be a significant asset to AUKUS. Canada’s new defense policy document, published earlier this year, outlines plans to build a network of operational support hubs in the north, to deploy underwater sensors on all its coasts, to buy a fleet of airborne early warning aircraft, and to build a satellite ground station in the High Arctic. As rival powers increasingly take an interest in the region’s military and resource possibilities, these new capabilities will become all the more important.
Of course, for American conservatives, the success and appeal of all this depends very much on Canada’s willingness to finally get serious about its overall level of defense spending.
In the meantime, it’s heartening to see the bipartisan support that AUKUS has garnered in the US, UK, and Australia. Defense-minded Republicans should approve, given how Australia will contribute to the reinforcement of America’s submarine industrial base.
This article was co-written with Colin Dueck and first published by aei.org
About the author
Alexander Gray: Director of Sovereignty
Alexander Gray is the Director of Sovereignty at the Legatum Institute. He joined the Sovereignty Unit in 2023 as a Senior Researcher. His latest report, “From AUKUS to CAUKUS: The Case for Canadian Integration”, made the case for Canadian membership of AUKUS Pillar 2 and was endorsed by four former Prime Ministers.
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