Japan, Australia Commit to Coordinate on Protection of Military Assets as Ministers Meet

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th October, 2020) Japan and Australia will begin coordination to allow the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to protect Australian military assets, the defense ministers of both countries said in a joint statement published following a meeting in Tokyo on Monday.

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and his Australian counterpart, Linda Reynolds, held face-to-face talks in Tokyo on Monday. According to the statement, both countries will look to enhance their previous cooperation in the defense sphere, which would allow for the Japanese military to protect Australian assets.

"The Ministers confirmed the importance of further close collaboration between the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Australian Defence Force in the Indo-Pacific region. They instructed their officials to commence necessary coordination to create a framework to protect Australian Defence Force assets by the SDF personnel under Article 95-2 of the SDF Law," the joint statement read.

Both ministers also committed to expanding military cooperation through an increase in the "complexity and sophistication" of bilateral exercises, according to the statement.

Kishi later told reporters that Australia and Japan are planning to hold a joint military drill near the South China Sea in the near future, the Kyodo news agency reported.

A commitment was also made to increase the number of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, which could see an Australian armed forces liaison officer placed in Japan, the ministers said in their joint statement.

Kishi and Reynolds also addressed regional concerns during their meeting, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan and Australia will continue to monitor events in the East China and South China seas, and the two ministers expressed their opposition to any destabilizing coercive actions, according to the statement.

Additionally, the two ministers expressed their concern over Pyongyang's decision to conduct missile tests and attempts to evade sanctions.

Japan and Australia will also seek to strengthen ties with the United States in the defense sphere, the two ministers said.

Reynolds and Kishi's predecessor, Taro Kono, held talks with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper this past July. Talks centered on North Korea, and the three ministers urged Pyongyang to cease any actions that could lead to an escalation of tensions.