Japan PM Kishida in Australia to boost military, energy ties

Tokyo, October 21

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he wanted to bolster military and energy cooperation between the two countries amid their shared concerns about China, ahead of his meeting with his Australian counterpart.

Kishida said he hoped to update their 2007 bilateral security pact to factor in the progress they’ve made and further promote their partnership. Australia’s liquefied natural gas and coal exports were key to a stable energy supply for resource-scarce Japan. Kishida said he hoped to discuss the future of Japanese resources and energy stability with Albanese.

“Australia is an important country that we share universal values with, such as freedom and democracy, as well as strategic benefits, and it is an important country also from the resource and energy point of view,” Kishida said.

“Australia is our special strategic partner,” Kishida added, noting that Australia is a key member of the QUAD dialogue that also includes the US and India. Japan and Australia, both US allies, share a largely similar vision for regional security and Japan hopes to elevate its cooperation with Australia.

The leaders are planning to issue a possible new declaration on security cooperation that would reinforce the 2007 pact looking ahead to the next decade, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol. The pact committed the countries to regional and global peace and stability as well as cooperation on counterterrorism and rebuilding Iraq after the 2003 war. Amid China’s growing assertiveness in the region, Japan has been expanding its military cooperation in recent years beyond its only ally, the US, and forged close ties especially with Australia, now considered as a semi-ally. Tokyo also has developed defence ties with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

Japan and Australia also share concerns about China’s growing influence over Pacific island nations, heightened earlier this year when Beijing signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, raising fears of a Chinese naval base being established in the South Pacific region.

Kishida will hold talks with Albanese on Saturday before he meets with Japanese and Australian business representatives and visits a facility related to green energy before heading back to Japan late Saturday, according to Japan’s Foreign Ministry. — AP