Australia, Japan to pursue ‘more complex’ joint military drills

TOKYO: Australia and Japan will pursue opportunities for “more complex” joint military exercises, Canberra´s defence minister said on Friday after talks with his Japanese counterpart and the countries´ foreign ministers in Tokyo.

The meeting followed the signing in October of a security pact by Japan and Australia, agreeing to share intelligence and deepen defence cooperation to counter China´s military rise. And in Washington this week, the Australian and American defence and foreign ministers said they would welcome Japanese troops into three-way rotations.