Japan and Australia pledge closer security ties to counter Indo-Pacific risks

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(Corrects day of week to Friday in paragraph 1)

TOKYO (Reuters) -Australia and Japan on Friday said they would deepen cooperation to address increasing security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, including assisting each other in evacuating citizens at risk overseas.

“We agreed to further strengthen our collective deterrence capabilities and to activate discussions on potential contingencies that could affect the security of both countries and the region,” Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said.

His comments came after a meeting in Tokyo that also included Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani and their Australian counterparts, Penny Wong and Richard Marles.

Japan and Australia, both close allies of the United States, are forging closer ties as China’s regional influence expands. Their cooperation includes joint military training and a reciprocal access agreement signed in 2023 that allows their forces to operate on each other’s territory.

Japan and Australia are also members of the Quad grouping alongside the United States and India.

Last month, Japan clinched a landmark A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) deal to build warships for Australia, marking Tokyo’s most consequential defence sale since it ended a ban on military exports in 2014.

Japan is seeking more defence industry collaboration in areas such as advanced unmanned systems, Nakatani said.

Australia’s Wong said Canberra aimed to expand economic cooperation with Tokyo beyond its role as a major supplier of energy, including liquefied natural gas.

“We want the next stage of this to be economic security in the area of critical minerals. And we see that as of great importance,” she said.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly in Tokyo and Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Jamie Freed)