Japan, Australia agree to bolster military cooperation in 2+2 meeting

(ASAHI SHIMBUN)Foreign and defense ministers of Japan and Australia agreed here to swiftly sign a pact to make cooperation between their armed forces easier.

Full agreement will be sought when Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visits Japan next month. By signing the treaty, Japan will essentially become a "quasi-ally" with Australia, allowing the Self-Defense Forces to significantly strengthen their ties with the Australian armed forces in various fields, including unit management and equipment. Both Japan and Australia are allied with the United States.

Japan sent Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani to the "two-plus-two" meeting on Nov. 22. The Australian side was represented by Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop and Defense Minister Marise Payne.

The pact will be Japan's first mutual status of forces agreement, which legally defines how a foreign military force operating in another country is handled. This will determine what local laws the troops will be exempt from, including the handling of accidents and crimes, the movement of military vehicles on public roads and frequencies of radio bandwidths to use during exercises.

Such an agreement will allow for the two armed forces to hold joint exercises and dispatch units for disaster relief purposes. The two nations will be able to conduct joint drills on Japanese territory without the bother of implementing special procedures.

With regard to the development of the Royal Australian Navy's new submarine, Tokyo urged Sydney to choose Japan as its project partner.

Nakatani said Japan's collaboration would become "a strategic model for the Japan-U.S.-Australia coalition."