Australia, Japan sign defense pact as PRC concerns loom
The Associated Press
The leaders of Australia and Japan signed a “landmark” defense agreement in early January 2022 that allows closer cooperation between their militaries and stands as a rebuke to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met virtually to sign the Reciprocal Access Agreement, the first such defense pact signed by Japan with any country other than the United States.
The agreement follows more than a year of talks aimed at removing legal barriers to allow each nation’s troops to enter the other country for training and other purposes.
“Japan is our closest partner in Asia, as demonstrated by our special strategic partnership — Australia’s only such partnership,” Morrison said. “An equal partnership, shared trust between two great democracies committed to the rule of law, human rights, free trade and a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”
Kishida hailed the agreement as “a landmark instrument which will elevate security cooperation between the nations to new heights.” (Pictured: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison display their nations’ Reciprocal Access Agreement during a virtual summit in January 2022.)
While the PRC wasn’t mentioned, its significance at the signing was implicit.
Japan’s ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, said that “in light of the deteriorating security environment, what Japan and Australia can do together is first of all to increase deterrence.”
Morrison said the agreement “will form an important part of Australia and Japan’s response to the uncertainty we now face and will underpin greater and more complex engagement in operability between the Australia Defence Force and Japan Self-Defense Forces.”
He called the pact a “pivotal moment for Australia and Japan and (for) the security of our two nations and our people.”
Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the agreement recognized the importance of establishing firm defense partnerships to deter an increasingly aggressive PRC.
“Japan is breaking away from its post-war constitutional constraints on the use of military force because Tokyo recognizes the challenges it is facing from China,” he told Sky News. “There is a territorial dispute between China and Japan … and more significantly there is a growing concern China will make a move over Taiwan in the next few years.”
The pact builds on the strategic dialogue known as the Quad, which includes Australia, India, Japan and the U.S.. Australia in 2021 also signed the AUKUS agreement with the United Kingdom and the U.S., both of which pledged to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
IMAGE CREDIT: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
