Japan and Australia step up defence cooperation

The Japan–Australia Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) was finally signed on 6 January 2022. Under the increasingly severe strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific region, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described it as a ‘breakthrough’, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called it a ‘landmark treaty’.

Author: Kei Koga, NTU

The RAA is pivotal for further strategic cooperation between Japan and Australia, and contains significant strategic potential for furthering Indo-Pacific minilateralism.

The RAA enables Japan and Australia to enhance their power projection capabilities. But this agreement will not drastically strengthen their respective military capabilities. Japan and Australia do not possess the military assets to sustain a long-term overseas deployment. Japan also has additional hurdles, such as the Article 9 ‘peace clause’ of its post-war…