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Japan, Australia sign landmark security pact aimed at countering China’s military rise
- Prime ministers Kishida and Albanese signed the accord that would allow the two countries’ military forces to train together in Northern Australia
- Experts see the agreement as another step toward Tokyo joining the US-led Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance
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Australia and Japan agreed to share more sensitive intelligence and deepen military cooperation on Saturday, signing a security pact aimed at countering China’s military rise.
Prime ministers Fumio Kishida and Anthony Albanese signed the accord in the Western Australian city of Perth, revamping a 15-year-old agreement drafted when terrorism and weapons proliferation were the overriding concerns.
“This landmark declaration sends a strong signal to the region of our strategic alignment”, said Albanese, hailing the “Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation”.
Under the accord, the two countries agreed military forces would train together in Northern Australia, and would “expand and strengthen cooperation across defence, intelligence sharing”, Australian officials said.
Without citing China or North Korea by name, Kishida said the agreement was a response to an “increasingly harsh strategic environment”.
Neither Australia nor Japan has the armies of overseas intelligence operatives and foreign informants needed to play in the major leagues of global espionage.
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