Japan, Australia sign agreement on closer defense cooperation
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan and Australia on Thursday signed an agreement to allow the two countries to work closely in the military, which is seen as an attempt to further strengthen security ties. More under the goal of resisting with China. This was released by Reuters on Thursday, January 6, 2022.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison held a meeting online on Thursday to sign the final agreement, which has been underway for some time. A few years ago. Japan and Australia are also parties to a security alliance called Quad, which was formed amid concerns over China's growing influence.
The agreement, known as the RAA, will allow the Japanese and Australian militaries to work together smoothly on defense as well as humanitarian operations. Japan's other defense agreements are only with the United States. It was established in 1960, allowing the United States to deploy thousands of warships, fighter jets and troops on Japanese soil.
Kishida had originally planned to visit Australia on Thursday, but decided to cancel to focus on tackling the growing epidemic of COVID-19 in Japan.
