Japan and Australia updated an agreement to strengthen international security ties amid growing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region. The pact was renewed this Saturday (22), during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Perth, capital of Western Australia.
According to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the deal offers cooperation in intelligence and logistics and allows the Japanese military to carry out exercises in the north of the country with the Australian Defense Force.
The document declares the countries “natural partners” in the face of growing risks to common interests.
“This historic declaration sends a strong signal to the region regarding our strategic alignment,” said Albanese. Kishida, for his part, said the pact aims to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific under “an increasingly harsh strategic environment”.
Both made references to tensions in the region without directly citing China.
The relationship between the two countries is not recent. The meeting in Perth renewed the terms proposed in a declaration of military cooperation signed in 2007. In 2014, Japan and Australia elevated their relationship to a “special strategic partnership”, updated in January of this year to a bilateral agreement signed by Kishida and the then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
In addition to security, the alliance has established cooperation in energy security, mining and sustainability, with a commitment to promote the sharing of research, investments and commercial agreements for Japanese and Australian ore, according to the Australian government in a statement.
The country is a major supplier of iron ore, coal and gas to Japan. In addition to exporting wheat and beef. Australia, Japan, USA and India have participated since 2007 in Quad, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. The group is considered an implicit attempt to contain the expansion of Chinese influence.
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