TOKYO (Kyodo) — The foreign ministers of Japan and Canada on Tuesday signed an agreement to facilitate the exchange of classified information, aiming to deepen their security cooperation amid China’s military rise in the Indo-Pacific region.
In a joint press announcement after their talks in Tokyo, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand also welcomed the start of mass imports of Canadian liquefied natural gas by the Japanese private sector earlier this month.
The move came after Japanese and Canadian prime ministers, Shigeru Ishiba and Mark Carney, agreed to pursue the early signing of the intelligence-sharing pact when they met in Kananaskis in western Canada last month on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit.
Iwaya told reporters that the signing of the accord is “extremely meaningful” given the “severe geopolitical conditions” his country faces, while Anand said the agreement will help Japan and Canada strengthen their security partnership.
With growing security challenges including China and North Korea in mind, Japan has already signed similar intelligence-sharing agreements with the United States, Britain and Australia — all members of the Five Eyes alliance alongside Canada and New Zealand.
Japan, Canada sign intel-sharing pact to boost defense cooperation
