Status: 10/22/2022 2:01 p.m
Although China is not named, the thrust is clear: Japan and Australia plan to cooperate more closely in the areas of defense and espionage. Both countries are “natural partners,” according to the agreement.
Japan and Australia want to deepen their military cooperation. The background is the growing tensions with China and North Korea. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian colleague Anthony Albanese signed a “security pact”. The provides for closer cooperation in defense and in the exchange of intelligence information.
According to an Australian representative, joint military exercises are planned in northern Australia. Both countries are “natural partners” who see growing threats to their common interests, the pact goes on to say.
“Difficult strategic environment”
The declaration sends “a strong signal to the region about our strategic direction,” Albanese said after signing in Perth, Australia.
His Japanese counterpart Kishida said the agreement 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 that of the USA with the CIA or Great Britain with MI6. Australia’s secret service Asio is significantly smaller. However, the government in Canberra exchanges information with the USA, Great Britain, Canada and New Zealand as part of the “Five Eyes” alliance.
Japan is a gas consumer
Kishida and Albanese also advocated closer cooperation in the areas of mining and energy. Japan is a major buyer of Australian gas. A letter of intent stipulates that Japan will develop deposits of rare earths in Australia.
Rare earths are a number of metals that are required for the manufacture of many high-tech products – including the construction of wind turbines or electric cars. China currently dominates the world production of these minerals. There are fears Beijing may cut supplies for political reasons.