Tokyo Japan January 6 ANI Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison signed a treaty to facilitate joint exercises and strengthen security cooperation while expressing concerns over China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement will allow quicker deployment of Japanese Self Defense Forces and Australian Defense Force personnel and ease restrictions on the transportation of weapons and supplies for joint training and disaster relief operations, according to Kyodo News.
Kishida said that this is a landmark agreement that will bring Japan-Australia security cooperation to a new level.
Morrison said that the pact opens a new chapter for advanced defense and security cooperation. He said that it will underpin greater engagement, interoperability and cooperation between the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the Australian Defense Forces. The joint statement, released after their virtual meeting that stretched over more than 100 minutes, said the signing of the agreement underscored their commitment to further enhance bilateral security and defense cooperation in the interests of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
In a statement, Kishida and Morrison expressed serious concerns about the situation in the South and East China Seas, where China has been involved in territorial rows with its neighbors, in a veiled criticism of Beijing's maritime activities aimed at altering the regional status quo in its favor.