Australia, Japan strengthen Indo-Pacific defense cooperation

Sydney, Australia, Jan 6 (EFE).- Canberra and Tokyo have signed a pact to reinforce cooperation in defense and security in order to face “a new and even more challenging environment,” especially in the Indo-Pacific region, Australia’s prime minister announced Thursday.

The Reciprocal Access Agreement, addressed in the framework of a virtual meeting between Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, expands cooperation and interoperability between the armed forces of both nations.

“This complements the suite of defense, security and partnership agreements that our government has been building over the last three years to keep Australians safe, and to keep our region secure,” said Morrison.

The bilateral cooperation also includes the strengthening of the guidelines of the Quad group, created in 2017 and to which Australia and Japan belong, along with India and the United States, and a shared approach based on technology to reduce carbon emissions.

Talks for this agreement began in 2014, but it was not until November 2020 that broad consensus was reached. EFE

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