Australia and Japan will hold a virtual summit on Thursday to sign a defence agreement as both countries seek to strengthen defense cooperation amid China's growing military influence.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement will enhance interoperability and collaboration between the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the Australian Defense Force, including facilitating faster deployment of defense personnel and easing restrictions on the transportation of weapons and supplies for joint training and disaster relief operations, Kyodo News reported.
"This treaty will be a statement of our two nations' commitment to work together in meeting the shared strategic security challenges we face and to contribute to a secure and stable Indo-Pacific," Kyodo News quoted Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's statement.
Australia will be the first country after the United States to conclude such an agreement with Japan.
According to the Japanese media, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had been considering a visit to Australia in January to sign the agreement but on Tuesday he said that he would abandon the plan for an in-person summit to focus on the COVID-19 response in Japan.
This came amid deteriorating relations between Canberra and Beijing.
Their relations have dipped after the Chinese leadership was incensed with Canberra calling for an independent investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus.
Relations had started to fray in 2018 when Australia banned Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies from building its 5G network. Canberra has also been locked in an ongoing trade war with Beijing for several months as China has slapped sanctions on various Australian products.
( With inputs from ANI )
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