Can china's 150 J-20s stop a mammoth
fleet of F-35 stealth jets as Australia Japan signed historic defense pact?
"Australia and Japan have signed a new
pact to boost collaboration between the
two countries in the field of defense
and security," australian prime minister Scott Morrison said on december 6. Prime minister today we demonstrate the
strength of our bonds as we sign our
reciprocal access agreement, the first of
its kind for japan.
The RAA (Reciprocal Access Agreement) is a
landmark treaty that opens a new chapter
for advanced defense and security
cooperation, in what is a complex and rapidly
changing world, something you and i both
understand very well, Morrison said to
japanese prime minister Fumio Kashida
during a virtual meeting.
Morrison also stated the agreement will
bolster more complex engagement
interoperability and cooperation between
the australian and japanese forces. In november 2021 Morrison said Tokyo and Canberra had reached an agreement in
principle on the Japan-Australia
reciprocal access treaty that would
deepen the country's strategic and
security relationship.
The reciprocal access agreement will
boost interoperability and collaboration
between the japanese self-defense forces
and the australian defense force by
eliminating limitations on the movement
of weapons and supplies for cooperative
training and disaster relief missions.
Moreover it will also facilitate faster
deployment of defence personnel. In late
2020 Japan and Australia had stated that
they would work to ease legal and
administrative impediments to their
forces visiting each other's countries, enabling more cooperative training and
rapid military assistance in a crisis.
With this deal australia becomes the
second country to have a formal defense
treaty with Japan after the US. It comes as the united states, a key ally
of both nations, strives to boost defense
cooperation in the face of china's
expanding military clout in the
indo-pacific region.
The three nations along with india are
part of a bigger regional alliance
called quadrilateral security dialogue
or quad. stronger security relations are building
among quad partners to address common
concerns about China in the indo-pacific
region.
European countries have also begun
taking a greater interest in the
security issues of the region. the new treaty, according to the
australian prime minister is a statement
of the two nations commitment to work
together in meeting the shared strategic
security challenges and to contribute to
a secure and stable indo-pacific.
Morrison said that the cooperation also
includes an expanding agenda for quad
with India and the United States in a
shared technology-led approach to reduce
carbon emissions.
Japan's prime minister Fumio Kashida
said, based on the principle of a free
and open indo-pacific, i want to raise
cooperation with the us australia and
india and build close ties with their
leaders through close consultations.
We share with australia the basic values
of freedom and democracy, japanese chief
cabinet secretary Hiracasa Mitsuno told
reporters on january 5th.
The two leaders aim to address issues of
mutual concern, including national
security, the economy and regional
affairs. in order to improve bilateral
ties and cooperation toward a free and
open indo-pacific, he added.
As expected, the development has not gone
down well with china. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that agreements between
countries should promote peace and not
target any third parties.
The pacific is vast enough, there's
enough room for shared development for
all. He said noting that china hoped
people would not be stirring up trouble
in the region.
The Japanese prime minister said on
january 4th that he had planned an
in-person meeting with Morrison but had
to shift it to a virtual mode in order
to deal with the recent spike in covid 19 cases.
Relations between Australia and China have hit a rough patch after Canberra accused Beijing of meddling in
its politics and barred huawei
technologies co, from participating in
the implementation of 5g infrastructure.
The China-Australia ties have been
fragile since the australian government
sought an independent investigation into
the wuhan coronavirus theory in 2020. Beijing retaliated with a slew of trade
measures, including punishing tariffs on
australian barley and wine and halting
coal exports.
Beijing's relationship with japan has
also deteriorated as a result of its
crackdown on hong kong and the ongoing
tension between China and Taiwan.
Former Japanese PM Yoshihide Shuga had
once referred to taiwan as a country, during a meeting of the national diet, the country's bicameral legislature
angering china.
