Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada has begun negotiations with representatives of Australia, Britain, and the United States regarding the possibility of joining the military alliance "AUKUS".

Trudeau said in a statement to the "TASS" agency: "We are already observers in the working groups for the second pillar of (AUKUS), we have had excellent negotiations with the United States, Britain, and Australia on how to work more closely."

He added that he positively assesses the fact that New Zealand has started, in addition to Canada, negotiations to join the alliance, and Japan is also active in this direction.

Australia formed the "AUKUS" military alliance with the United States and the United Kingdom to develop and deploy nuclear-powered submarines, in addition to enhancing military presence in the Pacific region. This step came amid growing concern by the United States and its allies about China's increasing military assertiveness in the Pacific Ocean.