A Japanese defense official warned on Monday that countries such as Japan and the United States should start to enhance bilateral defense cooperation or risk losing their military-technological edge over China.

In a report by South China Morning Post, Japan’s MoD minister for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Suzuki Atsuo, warned of losing supremacy to China as superpowers begin to strengthen bilateral pacts on both sides.

“China’s emergence as a tech giant means that democratic countries such as Japan and the US are on the verge of losing technological predominance,” Suzuki said.

Suzuki described China’s current military capabilities as a “technological revolution,” crediting its advances to making use of civilian technology, the acquisition of foreign engineers and scientists, as well as the alleged theft of technology.

With this in mind, Suzuki called for Japan and the US to invest more in research and development and to strengthen their cooperation in building better defense technologies. 

The US and AUKUS Alliance

Just this month, the US announced a new alliance with Australia and Britain to build a nuclear-powered submarine for Australia in just such a move as Suzuki is calling for.

US President Joe Biden asserted that the alliance was built upon the idea of strengthening the participating nations’ power “to maneuver and defend against rapidly evolving threats.”

President Biden also explained that the AUKUS alliance will cover “cyber, AI — particularly applied AI — quantum technologies and some undersea capabilities as well.”