TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan and Australia agreed Friday in Tokyo to bolster security cooperation in areas such as defense equipment and cybersecurity during talks between their foreign and defense ministers, while expressing strong concern over China’s military assertiveness in the region.
Vowing to elevate what they call a “special strategic partnership,” the ministers welcomed Australia’s recent choice of a Japanese design for its future frigate fleet and pledged to strengthen collective deterrence in a joint statement released after their so-called two-plus-two talks.
“We acknowledged our unprecedented strategic alignment, shared will and capability to play a leading role in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the statement said.
The two-plus-two talks, held for the 12th time and the first since September 2024, took place as the two countries deepen their ties through more frequent joint exercises under a reciprocal access agreement between their defense forces, which took effect in 2023.
The meeting was attended by Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, as well as their respective Australian counterparts, Penny Wong and Richard Marles.
The ministers cited a range of areas for closer cooperation, including greater use of the reciprocal access agreement, economic security through resilient supply chains, and advanced capabilities such as unmanned systems.
“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, next year, our security cooperation has become broader and stronger than ever before,” Iwaya said at a joint press announcement with the three other ministers.
Marles said an elevation of the partnership is a “really important step forward,” enabling the two countries to cooperate in exercises and in respect of logistics and “more across all our domains.”
The two countries agreed to reinforce their command coordination by sending liaison officers to each other’s joint operations commands, welcoming the recent dispatch of an Australian officer to Japan.
Also in September, the Australian destroyer Brisbane will visit Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo, to undergo maintenance in Japan for the first time.
On Australia’s choice of Japan’s upgraded Mogami-class frigate as the preferred platform for its future general-purpose fleet, Marles called it “the best frigate for Australia” and “the most cost-effective solution.”
In the joint statement, the ministers reiterated their “strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion” in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, where tensions are running high over China’s assertiveness.
“We expressed serious concern at the increase in scale and frequency of provocative activities by China in Japan’s maritime and air domains,” the statement also said.
Chinese coast guard ships have repeatedly entered waters around the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Japan and Australia also underscored “the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an essential element of regional and international security and prosperity,” according to the joint statement, in an apparent reference to China’s increasing pressure on the self-ruled democratic island, which Beijing views as its own territory.
Wong said the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to “the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and strongly condemn North Korea’s continued provocative actions, as well as Russia’s ongoing illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine.”
In addition, Japan and Australia agreed to cooperate in evacuating their nationals from third countries in emergency situations, such as during conflicts.
Japan signed a similar memorandum with South Korea last year, and the accord with Australia is the second of its kind.
(By Hiroki Noda)
Japan, Australia agree to expand security cooperation amid China concerns
