Australia and Japan will sign a security cooperation agreement with Reuters

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia and Japan will sign a pact to strengthen defense and security cooperation at a virtual summit on Thursday in the latest move to strengthen ties between China’s growing military power and economic power in the Indo-Pacific region.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the two leaders would sign a Mutual Access Agreement, which would establish for the first time a framework for cooperation between the two countries’ defense forces.

“This treaty will be a statement of our two nations’ commitment to addressing the shared strategic security challenges we face and supporting a secure and stable Indo-Pacific, ”Morrison said Wednesday.

Stronger security ties with the United States, Japan, India and Australia – known as Quad – extend efforts to work on shared concerns about China, including pressure on Taiwan, trade disputes and regional freedom of navigation.

China responded by saying that bilateral treaties should promote confidence, peace and stability in the region.

“It should not harm or harm the interests of third parties,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Wednesday when asked about the treaty.

Australia and Japan intend to discuss opportunities to strengthen government-business partnerships on clean energy, critical technologies and materials.

“Our partnership with India and the United States also includes expanding the Quad agenda, and a shared vision driven by carbon emission reduction technologies,” Morrison said.

A senior Japanese government spokesman said “important major challenges will be discussed honestly” at the summit.

“Relations between Japan and Australia will be further enhanced, and we will reaffirm our cooperation on the path to the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Cabinet Secretary-General Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters on Wednesday.

Kishida said on Tuesday that he would leave foreign visits before the next parliamentary session on January 17 to implement measures against the pandemic. He had previously planned to travel to Australia in person, according to the media.