Treaty signed: Japan and Australia alliance

Although China was not named, the thrust is clear: Japan and Australia plan to cooperate more closely on defense and intelligence. Both countries are “natural partners” according to the treaty.

Japan and Australia want to deepen their military cooperation. The backdrop is rising tensions with China and North Korea. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese signed the “Defence Agreement”. Provides close cooperation in security and intelligence information sharing.

According to an Australian representative, joint military exercises are planned in northern Australia. The two countries are “natural partners” who see growing threats to their common interests, the agreement says.

“Difficult Strategic Environment”

The declaration “sends a strong signal to the region about our strategic direction,” Albanese said after the signing in Perth, Australia.

His Japanese counterpart, Kishida, said the deal was a response to an “increasingly difficult strategic environment,” without naming China or North Korea.

Neither Japan nor Australia has an intelligence apparatus comparable to the CIA or Great Britain’s MI6. Asio, Australia’s secret service, is remarkably small. However, the government in Canberra shares information with the US, Great Britain, Canada and New Zealand as part of the “Five Eyes” alliance.

Japan is a gas consumer

Kishida and Albanese advocated closer cooperation in the mining and energy sectors. Japan is the largest buyer of Australian gas. A letter mentions that Japan will develop rare earth deposits in Australia.

Many of the metals required for the production of many high-tech products, including the construction of wind turbines or electric cars, are rare earths. China currently dominates the world production of these minerals. There are fears that Beijing could cut supplies for political reasons.