TOKYO, Japan: Japan and Australia agreed today to strengthen security cooperation in areas including defence equipment and cyber during talks between their foreign and defence ministers in Tokyo, Kyodo news reported.
Japanese Foreign Minister, Takeshi Iwaya, said the two countries will step up their joint deterrence capabilities, citing the “increasingly severe” regional security environment.
Australian Defence Minister, Richard Marles, said both sides have agreed to “elevate” their special strategic partnership, which will lead to more exercises and expanded cooperation in logistics, cyber and other areas.
The “two-plus-two” meeting, held for the 12th time since 2007, also involved Japanese Defence Minister, Gen Nakatani, and Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong.
The discussions came as both countries seek to deepen their partnership in promoting a “free and open Indo-Pacific”.
In a boost to Japan’s efforts to export defence equipment, Australia last month selected a Japanese design for its future fleet of frigates.
After the talks, the ministers welcomed Australia’s choice of the upgraded Mogami-class frigate as the preferred platform for its AUD10 billion (USD6.5 billion) programme.
“We made this decision because this is the best frigate for Australia going forward. This is the most cost-effective solution,” Marles said.
“There is no country with whom we have a greater strategic alignment than Japan. We’re both democracies, we both support a global rules-based order, we are both allies of the United States,” he added.
Japan and Australia have been stepping up joint exercises and defence collaboration under a reciprocal access agreement that came into force in 2023.
The ministers also pledged to strengthen trilateral cooperation with the United States, which includes a defence dialogue framework agreed last year.
Both sides further agreed to cooperate on evacuating their nationals from third countries in emergency situations.
Japan signed a similar memorandum with South Korea last year, and the accord with Australia will be the second of its kind. – BERNAMA-KYODO
