H.E. Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, H.E. Mr. HAMADA Yasukazu, Minister of Defence of Japan, the Hon. Richard Marles MP, the Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, and Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, held the Tenth Japan-Australia 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations on 9 December 2022 in Tokyo. The consultations, in a timely manner, reaffirmed the ambitious vision set at the October 2022 Leaders’ Meeting, including in the Joint Statement and Japan-Australia Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation (JDSC).
We reaffirmed that our Special Strategic Partnership only grows stronger. Japan and Australia are united by our shared values, including an unwavering commitment to democracy, human rights, free trade and a rules-based international order.
Recognising our shared views on the changing regional and global environment, expressed by our leaders’ Joint Statement in October 2022, we today focused on expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation in line with the JDSC.
We underscored the importance of our respective alliances and our trilateral cooperation with the United States, including through the Trilateral Strategic Dialogue, which underpins peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. We reaffirmed our deep strategic alignment as we commit to our respective major reviews of security strategy and policies. We will continuously ensure our systems enhance our communication and consultations based on paragraph 6 of the JDSC.
We reaffirmed our commitment to realise a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, that is inclusive and resilient, where sovereignty and international law, including universal human rights, are upheld.
We underscored our commitment to work with partners to realise this vision including with India and the United States under frameworks such as the Quad.
We welcomed the following actions:
- continuing effective and practical cooperation in the Pacific, including working within established Pacific architecture such as the Pacific Islands Forum, to address the needs and priorities of Pacific island countries, including through:
- collaboration on explosive ordnance disposal (EOD)
- deepened collaboration to support the Pacific’s infrastructure, connectivity and maritime security needs
- enhanced coordination between our Pacific missions, including with Japan’s new missions in Kiribati and New Caledonia
- delivering tangible outcomes through Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP)
- collaboration between the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Export Finance Australia (EFA) to provide credit guarantees for EFA’s financing to Telstra to support its acquisition of Digicel Pacific
- coordinating efforts to enhance water security in the Marshall Islands and other small island states
- tackling oil spill risks from World War II wrecks in Chuuk Lagoon, Federated States of Micronesia
- supporting increased maritime security capacity in Samoa
- Australia’s support for the Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC) in Samoa, which was established with a partnership among Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Japan and New Zealand
- mutually reinforcing our respective enhanced approaches to Southeast Asia, and working together towards mutually decided priorities with ASEAN and Southeast Asian partners, including economic, development, security cooperation and the energy transition
- progressing commitments to deepen security and defence cooperation, and build greater interoperability, building on the Reciprocal Access Agreement once it enters into force, including:
- deepening security and defence cooperation and advancing discussions on the scope, objectives and forms of our enhanced operational cooperation between the Japan Self Defense Forces and the Australian Defence Force to build greater interoperability
- expanding air-to-air refueling pairings between the Japan Air Self Defense Force and Royal Australian Air Force aircraft
- committing to unit exchanges and more complex exercises, including accelerating the consideration of:
- manoeuvre deployment training of Japan’s F-35s with an eye to future rotational deployment of Japan’s fighters including F-35s in Australia while welcoming Royal Australian Air Force F-35s coming to Japan next year for the first time to participate in Exercise Bushido Guardian
- enhancing the complexity of Japan Self Defense Forces’ participation in Exercise Talisman Sabre
- options to conduct submarine search and rescue training between the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and the Royal Australian Navy
- amphibious operations, exercises and guided weapon live-fire drills
- enhancing cooperation on strategic capabilities, including long-range guided weapons, Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) and Under Sea Warfare (USW)
- bolstering trilateral cooperation with the United States, including to:
- increase training opportunities with the U.S. Forces in northern Australia
- leverage the asset protection framework
- enhance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) to develop a common foundation for optimised and agile operational cooperation
- promote the participation of the Australian Defence Force in Japan-U.S. bilateral exercises and the participation of the Japan Self Defense Forces in U.S.-Australia bilateral exercises. Particularly, to support the Australian Defence Force participation in Exercise Yama Sakura in 2023
- elevating defence equipment, science and technology and industry cooperation in various ways, including to:
- finalise research, development, test and evaluation arrangement to conduct defence science and technology cooperation more smoothly
- enhance defence science and technology collaboration in autonomous systems across all domains
- explore opportunities for joint research, co-development and production of advanced defence capabilities
- support policy dialogues on resilient supply chains, which is a shared challenge for Japan and Australia
- dispatch an Australian defence industry trade mission to Japan in 2023 to build industry resilience and cooperation
- continuing close cooperation to strengthen economic security and address economic coercion, including through the interagency communication and other initiatives with like-minded partners
- committing to continued communication and cooperation on cyber-security and cyber resilience, including:
- enhancing cooperation including through the next Japan-Australia Cyber Policy Dialogue
- supporting cyber capacity uplift in the Indo-Pacific through joint learning and coordination
- cooperation in the multilateral area
- working with partners in the Indo-Pacific on defence-related cyber security
- enhanced defence cyber cooperation through joint participation in NATO Exercise Locked Shields in 2023
- enhancing space cooperation following Japan-Australia Letter of Intent concerning a defence space partnership signed in November 2022
- increasing information sharing and coordination on our respective development assistance policies and between agencies and missions in the region
- enhancing information sharing and exchanging views on information security.