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Japan and Australia pledge closer security ties to counter Indo-Pacific risks
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Japan and Australia are enhancing security ties in the Indo-Pacific, focusing on military and economic cooperation to counter regional risks.
TOKYO (Reuters) -Australia and Japan on Monday said they would deepen cooperation to address increasing security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, including assisting each other in evacuating citizens at risk overseas.
"We agreed to further strengthen our collective deterrence capabilities and to activate discussions on potential contingencies that could affect the security of both countries and the region," Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said.
His comments came after a meeting in Tokyo that also included Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani and their Australian counterparts, Penny Wong and Richard Marles.
Japan and Australia, both close allies of the United States, are forging closer ties as China's regional influence expands. Their cooperation includes joint military training and a reciprocal access agreement signed in 2023 that allows their forces to operate on each other’s territory.
Japan and Australia are also members of the Quad grouping alongside the United States and India.
Last month, Japan clinched a landmark A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) deal to build warships for Australia, marking Tokyo's most consequential defence sale since it ended a ban on military exports in 2014.
Japan is seeking more defence industry collaboration in areas such as advanced unmanned systems, Nakatani said.
Australia's Wong said Canberra aimed to expand economic cooperation with Tokyo beyond its role as a major supplier of energy, including liquefied natural gas.
"We want the next stage of this to be economic security in the area of critical minerals. And we see that as of great importance," she said.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly in Tokyo and Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Jamie Freed)
Japan and Australia agreed to further strengthen their collective deterrence capabilities and activate discussions on potential contingencies affecting their security.
Japan clinched a landmark A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) deal to build warships for Australia, marking its most significant defence sale since ending a ban on military exports in 2014.
Japan is seeking more defence industry collaboration in areas such as advanced unmanned systems, as stated by Defence Minister Gen Nakatani.
Australia aims to expand economic cooperation with Japan beyond energy supply, focusing on economic security in critical minerals, which is seen as highly important.
Japan and Australia are members of the Quad grouping, which also includes the United States and India.
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