Japan, Australia to Boost Cooperation for East Asia Security

Melbourne, April 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his Australian counterpart Richard Marles at a meeting in Melbourne on Saturday agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation to ensure security in East Asia. The two ministers confirmed their countries’ cooperation apparently to boost deterrence against China’s increasing maritime expansion and North Korea’s repeated missile launches. “We will make close cooperation between Japan and Australia function as a regional deterrent,” Koizumi said in the meeting. “We hope to further deepen bilateral relations.” Marles said that no country is as strategically aligned with Australia as Japan, and that now is a critical phase. The two defense chiefs later signed a memorandum to promote a plan to build new warships based on the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s upgraded Mogami-class frigate for supply to the Royal Australian Navy. The Australian government has described Japan as an “indispensable partner” in its National Defense Strategy for 2026. The latest meeting between Koizumi and Marles was their sixth, following their last meeting in Tokyo on April 8. In Saturday’s meeting, the two discussed expanding operational cooperation and joint training between Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the Australian military, as well as collaboration over defense equipment technology. They also exchanged views on working together with the Philippines and other like-minded countries at a time when the United States focuses on the conflict in the Middle East. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]