Australia and Japan deepen security ties with new joint declaration

Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Japan and Australia on Saturday signed a "landmark" joint declaration on security cooperation for the next decade under which the two countries will "expand and strengthen" their military ties.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed the agreement at the annual Australia-Japan Leader's meeting in Perth. It's the fourth summit the two leaders have had since Albanese took office in May.

The declaration "recognizes the contemporary security context, and will expand and strengthen cooperation across defense, intelligence sharing, energy transition, climate change, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, health security, maritime security and economic security," the Australian government declared.

"The level of interaction which we have reflects very much the special strategic partnership that Australia and Japan have," Albanese told reporters. "We two countries really matter to each other now more than ever."

The joint declaration says that the two countries "will consult each other on contingencies that may affect our sovereignty and regional security interests, and consider measures in response."

Justin Bassi, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. the joint declaration was "highly significant" and "not merely an anodyne summary of the bilateral relationship."

"This is a clear description of its intimacy in relation to how the two countries see the world, their roles in it and the challenges that must be faced head-on," he said

Kishida said the new security declaration covers how to cooperate on a range of defense and security issues over the next 10 years and will help strengthen bilateral ties.

Australia and Japan will also increase cooperation to secure stable supplies of liquefied natural gas, rare metals and other resources.