Japan, Australia reach ‘landmark’ security agreement

TOKYO: Japan and Australia agreed a breakthrough defence pact on Tuesday facilitating reciprocal visits for training and operations. The Reciprocal Access Agreement strengthens defence ties between the two US allies at a time when China is asserting its role in the region and the US is going through a leadership transition. A legal framework allowing Japanese and Australian troops to visit each other’s countries and conduct training and joint operations, it was agreed in principle by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, who is visiting Tokyo. “In the Indo-Pacific region, security and defence cooperation between Japan and Australia, which have the will and capacity to contribute to regional peace and stability, is becoming increasingly important,” Suga told a joint news conference. “I hereby announce that we reached agreement in principle on a reciprocal access agreement, which had been negotiated to elevate security and defence cooperation between Japan and Australia to a new level.”