Japan signs defense pact with Australia; further abandoning pacifism
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison signed a new defense pact via a virtual summit which the two countries will agree to cooperate closely on defense to bolster securities ties.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), will allow Australian and Japanese military to work seamlessly on defense and humanitarian operations.
“Japan is our closest partner in Asia as demonstrated by our special strategic partnership, Australia’s only such partnership – an equal partnership of shared trust between two great democracies committed to the rule of law, human rights, free trade and a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Morrison said at a signing ceremony.
“The RAA is a landmark treaty which opens a new chapter for advanced defence and security co-operation of what is a complex and rapidly changing world, something you and I both understand very well,”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at the signing ceremony.
Kishida and Morrison will also be updating their 2007 Japan-Australia Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation, to reflect their new status of partnership. It’s remain to be seen if this would be a de facto “military alliance” that would compel both countries to go into a state of war, if the other is attacked.
This agreement comes at the heel of the AUKUS declaration where United Kingdom, United States and Australia enters into a treaty of extremely close military cooperation.
All these major geopolitical moves from Australia are direct results of the soured relationship between China and Australia, after Australia’s call for an independent inquiry into the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic angered China (we wondered why if China insisted they are “innocent”). China imposed sanctions on Australia in reaction and engaged in a worsening trade war with Australia, as the defiant Australia doubled down on their position. Prior to the pandemic, Australia’s economic was extremely dependent on China, with more than 32% of the export was China-bound.
Read more: June 25, 2020 article by AEI detailing the economic sanctions from China against Australia