News - Middle East: Senior US officials say they are in talks with a “variety” of countries about possibly adding them to the second phase of the Indo-Pacific AUKUS security pact, amid escalating tensions between world powers.

White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said the new allies and partners can take part in different areas, according to a report by ABC Australia on Tuesday.
Campbell did not name the countries but said there were a “variety” of nations interested.
“That might be in hypersonics, that could be in cybersecurity, it could be in anti-submarine warfare,” he told an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.
AUKUS is a trilateral security pact announced in September 2021 between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States aimed at countering Russia and China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Under pillar one of the deal, the US and the UK will assist Australia to obtain nuclear-powered submarines.
Pillar two will see the three nations working more closely together on other types of defense capabilities, such as artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.
According to Campbell, what potential allies are going to bring to the table must be “practical and operational.”
Canada and New Zealand have previously expressed an interest in joining Pillar Two.
A recent report by the US Congressional Research Service said that some analysts had argued that Japan should also be included to expand pillar two.