JAPANAUSTRALIA-JAPAN TIESSTRENGTHENED/ PETER DUTTON6 Australian Polity
The defence partnership of Australia and Japanwill again level up following the signing of theReciprocal Access Agreement by Scott Morrisonand Fumio Kishida. It is a profound moment, one thatAustralians and Japanese of a previous generation couldnever have imagined. One that our citizens today will seeas another example of the growing strength and specialnature of our bilateral relationship.The signing of the RAA builds on our partnership andfriendship with Japan – one that is based on shared valuesand interests, and on trust and respect. Significantly, itelevates our bilateral defence relationship with Japan toa new level. Japan is already one of our closest defencepartners, and with this agreement we are paving the wayfor a new chapter of enhanced co-operation.The purpose of the RAA is straightforward. It’s a treatyallowing our military forces to operate in each other’scountries. While Australia and Japan already havearrangements that facilitate specific joint defenceactivities, the RAA vastly broadens the scope of ourdefence co-operation. It’s a natural and confident stepforward in defence engagement between the twocountries.The treaty will enable more frequent and sophisticatedtraining exercises and operations between the AustralianDefence Force and the Japan Self-Defence Forces,enhancing interoperability in the process.signed with another nation.The ninth 2+2 Foreign and Defence MinisterialConsultations, held virtually in June last year, reinforcedour nations’ common defence interests and mutualobjectives. Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi and I committedto increasing the practical defence initiatives of Australiaand Japan, building on the more than 80 already agreedsince 2014. We also pledged to step up bilateral cooperationin cyber and space capabilities, while nurturingstronger ties between our defence industrial bases. Thesigning of the RAA will support these aims.Last July, the Japan Self-Defence Forces participatedin the Australia-US Exercise Talisman Sabre. The closingactivity was an amphibious landing in which, for the firsttime in history, forces from Australia, Japan, Britain andthe US worked together from the same ship. Japanand Australia also trained with other partners duringexercises La Perouse, Pacific Vanguard and Malabarlast year. The RAA will help us undertake new joint forcetraining initiatives.Growing defence co-operation between Australia andJapan under our Special Strategic Partnership shouldneither come as a surprise nor be viewed in isolation.This agreement is another step in realising the 2020Defence Strategic Update and Australia continues tostrengthen defence engagement with internationalpartners in support of shared regional security interests.In streamlining administrative processes, the RAA alsospeeds up physical force deployment into each other’sterritory. And it will complement new mechanisms forthe Japan Self-Defence Forces to protect the ADF’sweapons, equipment and assets in situations short ofarmed conflict. Although uncomplicated in its intent, theRAA is nonetheless a complex pact, years in the making.Provisions have been meticulously drafted to supportthe treaty’s practical implementation, reconciling eachcountry’s laws, administrative systems and internationalobligations.Japan entered a similar status of forces agreement withthe US in 1960 that allows US forces to be stationed in,and operate from, Japan. Significantly, the RAA withAustralia will be the first reciprocal treaty Japan hasLike-minded nations are taking steps to buttress theirown security, bolster defence co-operation bilaterallyand multilaterally, and build partnerships. They’re raisingdefence spending as a percentage of gross domesticproduct; coming together for joint exercises to improveinteroperability; undertaking multinational deployments touphold freedom of navigation and overflight in the region;deepening industrial base co-operation; strengtheningcollaboration in defence science, technology andresearch; and reinforcing commitments to establishedand emerging partnerships such as the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations, Five Eyes, the Five PowerDefence Arrangements and the Quadrilateral SecurityDialogue.Like-minded nations are responding in these waysAustralian Polity 7