The Japan-Australia Mutual Access Military Agreement should not be underestimated

The RECP agreement just signed seems to somewhat overshadow another military cooperation agreement signed two days later by two of the signatories to this agreement, Australia and Japan, which observers point to as a historic military cooperation agreement between the two countries that commits the two countries to accessing each other’s military forces to visit, train, and enhance the joint operational capabilities of each other’s military forces in their respective territories. The signing of such an agreement, observers say, has a significant bearing on the Chinese threat.

Apparently, it is a new pact for the defense of the Indo-Pacific region, which encompasses the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, from Australia to the North Pacific. The two countries signed a mutual military access agreement on November 17, taking advantage of Australian Prime Minister Morrison’s visit to Tokyo. It establishes a legal framework for the exchange of visits by the two countries’ militaries for training and joint military operations. The new framework, which will be formalized in 2021, also provides for the stationing of troops on each other’s soil, if necessary.

The U.S. then welcomed the Japan-Australia defense agreement, which is seen as a significant contribution to U.S. efforts to contain China’s malignant expansion in the Asia-Pacific region. Lt. Gen. Mertz, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, said Thursday that the agreement is encouraging and helpful, that the U.S. strongly supports it, and that it looks forward to conducting exercises with both countries. The agreement is the first military agreement of its kind since Japan signed the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States in 1960, which forms an important part of the U.S.-Japan military alliance. The SOFA allows for the deployment of U.S. warships, fighter jets, and military forces in and around Japan, and is considered by the United States to be a cornerstone of U.S.-Japan security.

The announcement made by Japanese Prime Minister Kan and Australian Prime Minister Morrison following the signing of the agreement did not name China, but the reference was clear: the joint statement reaffirmed the strengthening of cooperation to foster an open, free, prosperous, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, expressed “grave concern” about Beijing’s militarization of the South and East China Seas, and expressed concern about the situation in Hong Kong. “The two countries also expressed high appreciation for the continued U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, which is “very worrying. Beijing immediately criticized the Japan-Australia defense deal, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian saying on 18 March that the United States was using its alliances in the Asia-Pacific region to push for a NATO-like military alliance that would be detrimental to the interests of others.

The importance of the Japan-Australia defense agreement is reflected in the fact that Prime Minister Morrison made a special trip to Tokyo, from where he had to isolate himself for fourteen days after his return. The conservative leader said, “Australia and Japan, both democracies and liberal nations based on market economies, have many common strategic interests. Responding to criticism that the agreement was directed at China, Morrison said the agreement was conducive to regional peace and that the Japan-Australia defense agreement had no cause for concern.

The Japan-Australia defense agreement does not provide for automatic intervention in the event of an attack on one side, which was previously impossible for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, considered the world’s fifth-largest army and estimated to cost 43 billion euros in 2021, due to the “peace constitution,” but Japan amended the peace constitution in 2015 to allow for assistance to threatened allied forces, provided that preventive bombing seems unlikely if the allies are involved in military operations to defend Japan.

Nevertheless, the agreement clearly reflects a process of cooperation between the two countries that has been underway since 2007, when Japan’s 2010 version of its defense white paper placed Australia at the forefront of its efforts to strengthen the bilateral relationship, and 2013, when the two countries began negotiations on military cooperation. Even with the departure of Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister Kan is unwavering in his defense of Indo-Pacific cooperation, and both Australia and Japan are strong advocates of strengthening the “Quadruple Alliance” plus the United States and India, the latter of which Beijing views as an attempt to clamp down on China, and Kan organized another Quad meeting in early October.

A significant background to the intensification of military cooperation between Japan and Australia and the deepening of Quadruple A cooperation is closely related to the geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands, as well as the tensions between Australia and Beijing over Australia’s insistence on an independent international investigation into the source of the New Canopy virus and the ban on Huawei’s participation in Australia’s 5G construction. In retaliation, China has imposed an embargo on Australian agricultural and fisheries products, as well as coal.

Despite China’s list of reasons for the souring of Australia-China relations, Australia’s Commerce Minister said on Wednesday that the Japan-Australia defense agreement should not affect bilateral relations: we need cooperation with countries in the region. Indeed, two days before the signing of the Japan-Australia defense agreement, on November 15, China signed the RECP regional trade agreement, to which Japan and Australia are also signatories.