(6 Jan 2022) The leaders of Japan and Australia signed a "landmark" defense agreement on Thursday which allows closer co-operation between their militaries and stands as a rebuke to China as it increases its presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in a virtual summit which began with the signing of 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 between the nations aimed at breaking down legal barriers to allow the troops of one country to enter the other for training and other purposes.
"First and foremost, the Japan and Australia Reciprocal Access Agreement which we have just signed is a landmark instrument which will elevate security co-operation between the nations to new heights," said Prime Minister Kishida who warmly greeted Morrison by his nickname "ScoMo."
"Under the current security environment, the importance of security co-operation between Japan and Australia has risen significantly and it is therefore a pleasure to see the fruition of efforts made by both sides through energetic negotiations which brought us here today."
The pact builds on the Quad among Japan, Australia the United States and India.
Australia also last year signed the Aukus agreement with the United States and United Kingdom who have pledged to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
Japan and Australia also will co-operate on clean energy technologies.

Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ] ​​
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]


You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть