Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is traveling to Australia to meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, yesterday said he wants to bolster military and energy cooperation between the two countries amid their shared concerns about China.
Kishida said he hopes to update their 2007 bilateral security pact to factor in the progress they have made and further promote their partnership.
Australia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal exports are key to a stable energy supply for resource-scarce Japan, and Kishida said he hopes to discuss the future of Japanese resources and energy stability with Albanese.
Photo: AP
“For Japan, 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 from the resource and energy point of view,” Kishida said before boarding a flight to Perth.
He added that Australia is a key member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which also includes the US and India, and was established to discuss regional security and economic issues as a counter to China’s growing influence.
Japan and Australia, both US allies, share a similar vision for regional security, and Japan hopes to elevate its cooperation with Australia. The leaders are hoping to issue a new declaration on security cooperation that would reinforce the 2007 pact looking ahead to the next decade, a Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.
The pact commits the countries to regional and global peace and stability, as well as cooperation on counterterrorism and rebuilding Iraq after the 2003 war.
Kishida and Albanese are also to consider further implementing the Reciprocal Access Agreement, a security pact Kishida struck in January with then-Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, which removes obstacles to holding joint military exercises in either country, the official said.
Amid China’s growing assertiveness in the region, Japan has been expanding its security cooperation in recent years beyond its only military ally, the US, and has forged close ties especially with Australia. Tokyo also has developed defense ties with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.
Kishida is scheduled to hold talks with Albanese today before he meets with Japanese and Australian business representatives, visits a facility related to green energy and meets with Japanese residents before heading back to Japan later today, the Japanese official said.
The leaders are to discuss cooperation in LNG and other energy sources such as ammonia and hydrogen, the person said, adding that Kishida’s meeting in Perth, the capital of Western Australia, is significant, as the state exports most of Japan’s LNG.
Japan depends on Australia for nearly 40 percent of its LNG, and is seeking a stable energy supply amid global disruption.
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