Japan and Australia on Thursday (6) welcomed a new agreement to cooperate closely on defense, as a step forward and a milestone, in the latest step to strengthen security ties in the context of China’s growing military and economic power.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison held a virtual summit to seal a pact that had been negotiated for several years.
Australia has been working with Japan, India, the United States and the United Kingdom to strengthen defense ties amid concerns about China, including its pressure on Taiwan, freedom of navigation in the region and trade disputes.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), Japan’s first with any country, will allow the Australian and Japanese military to work together in defense and humanitarian operations, Morrison said.
“Japan is our closest partner in Asia, as demonstrated by our special strategic partnership, the only partnership of its kind in Australia – an equal partnership of shared trust between two great democracies committed to the rule of law, human rights, free trade and a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” Morrison said at a signing ceremony.
“The RAA is a historic treaty that opens a new chapter for advanced defense and security cooperation in a complex and rapidly changing world, something you and I understand very well,” Morrison told the Japanese leader.
Kishida called the deal “a step forward” and said ties with Australia will continue to be a model for security cooperation with other countries, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official told a news conference.
The summit comes as tensions over Taiwan, claimed by the Chinese, are mounting, as President Xi Jinping seeks to assert China’s sovereignty claims over the democratically governed island.
Kishida and Morrison highlighted the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and encouraged the peaceful resolution of the issues, according to a joint statement released after the summit.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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