Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles will head to Japan on Saturday for talks with his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, as the allies seek to advance bilateral defence cooperation amid growing tension in the Asia Pacific.
An Australian government news release on Friday said Canberra is seeking to make early contact with the new administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, adding that Australia and Japan have a “shared vision for our region” amid “increasingly complex global challenges”.
“Our relationship with Japan continues to grow from strength to strength – underpinned by close strategic alignment, mutual ambition and enormous potential,” Marles said.
“I look forward to meeting with Minister Koizumi to progress our already strong defence relationship even further,” he added.
At a media briefing ahead of the meeting, Koizumi said, “We plan to share the understanding of the regional situation between the two countries and hold concrete discussions for further progress in Japan-Australia defence cooperation.”
In August, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government granted a contract to Japanese firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to construct 11 Mogami-class frigates. Australia will acquire 11 vessels to bolster the Royal Australian Navy fleet, in a contract reportedly worth $10 billion Australian dollars (some $6.5bn).
The deal represents the most significant defence export Japan has undertaken since lifting its military export ban in 2014, as it moves further away from its post-World War II pacifist stance.
The first three frigates will be built in Japan, with the first of those scheduled to be delivered to Australia in 2029 and operational in 2030. The remaining vessels will reportedly be built in Western Australia.
Koizumi said Marles is set to tour the firm’s shipyard in the city of Nagasaki in southern Japan during his visit.
Described as “larger and more lethal” than Australia’s current Anzac-class frigates, Mogami-class warships are advanced stealth frigates capable of launching long-range missiles and have an operational range of up to 10,000 nautical miles (18,520km).
The Australian military intends to use the Mogami-class frigates to secure vital maritime trade routes and reinforce its northern defences across the Indian and Pacific oceans – regions where China continues to expand its military presence.
Relations between Beijing and Canberra have proven fraught over the past decade, with the period marked by repeated disagreements over national security and competing interests across the vast Pacific region.
Though attempts have been made to improve ties – with Chinese President Xi Jinping declaring that relations had “turned around” as he hosted Albanese in Beijing in July – tensions remain, most notably in the disputed South China Sea.
In a speech on Tuesday, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong accused China of projecting its military power into the Asia Pacific “without the transparency that the region expects”.
“China continues to assert its strategic influence, including through economic and security means, and is more frequently projecting its military power further into our region,” Wong said.
China’s ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian has previously said Beijing has no military strategy in the Pacific Islands and Canberra should not be concerned.
Meanwhile, relations between Japan and China have deteriorated to their lowest point in years over recent weeks after Prime Minister Takaichi remarked in parliament that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a military reaction from Tokyo.
The comments infuriated Communist Party officials in Beijing, who regard Taiwan as a breakaway province of China, despite having never ruled the democratically governed island.
Marles is also expected to visit Washington next week to meet with the US and British defence secretaries for talks on the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine programme.
A US official said on Thursday that the Pentagon has finished its review of the plan to deliver nuclear-powered submarines to Australia and identified areas to place the initiative on the “strongest possible footing”.
