Japan is seeking to capitalise on its rapidly deepening “quasi alliance” with Australia as it competes with Germany in a fierce battle to win a $10 billion contract to build 11 frigates for the Australian navy.
Defence Minister Richard Marles this week officially announced that Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) have been shortlisted for the lucrative general purpose frigate contract, knocking out rival bids from Spain and South Korea.
The government is considering a bid by Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to sell its Mogami 30FFM frigate to Australia
Both sides are waging an intense lobbying battle to win the tender, with TKMS promoting its MEKO A200 frigate as the most trustworthy and reliable choice while Mitsubishi hopes the blossoming Japan-Australia strategic relationship will give it an edge over its European competitor.
The Japanese Cabinet Office on Thursday released a document approving the sale of Mogami-class frigates to Australia in what would be a landmark deal for Japan.
“Japan is building a close co-operative relationship with Australia as a ‘special strategic partner’ in the Indo-Pacific region, second only to Japan-US defence cooperation,” the document says.
“Based on this policy, this joint development and production project will contribute to significantly improving interoperability and compatibility with Australia, strengthen the foundation for shipbuilding and maintenance in the Indo-Pacific region, and improve the future capabilities of Japan’s ships, and is of great significance to Japan’s national security.”
Standing beside Japanese Defence Minister Nakatani Gen at a press conference in Darwin this month, Marles said: “We’re obviously very impressed with the Mogami-class frigate and what Mitsubishi has presented so far” and described the frigate as a “very capable platform”.
Nakatani hailed Australia as a “quasi ally” at the same event.
The problem for Mitsubishi’s bid is that Japan only recently loosened its defence export rules and is not experienced at exporting warships or building them overseas.
By contrast, Germany’s TKMS is an experienced exporter that has recently delivered four MEKO A200 frigates to the Egyptian navy.
German shipbuilder TKMS’ Meko A-200 frigate is also under consideration for the Australian navy’s general purpose frigate.
The Australian navy currently uses a predecessor ship, the MEKO 200, for its current Anzac-class frigates.
Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that Japan was proposing to sell Australia a “newly developed model” of frigate, which raised some eyebrows in the defence sector.
The government has said it wants to buy an “off-the-shelf” frigate that requires minimal modifications to accelerate delivery and lessen the risk of cost blow-outs and delays that have beset other major defence projects.
The first three frigates will be built offshore and the remaining vessels constructed at the Henderson shipyards in Western Australia.
An announcement is expected next year after the federal election, which is due to be held by May, and the first ship to be delivered by 2029.
Jennifer Parker, an expert associate at the Australian National University, said that there were pros and cons to both options.
“Japan would do everything in its power to make this deal work,” she said. “They see it as underpinning a strategic partnership, not just a defence acquisition deal.”
The nation’s lack of experience in exporting warships was a downside, however.
“The Mogami is a great ship but there is more risk related to it,” she said.
“The Germans are very experienced at exporting ships, but there is no strategic imperative to partner with them.”
Peter Dean, director of the defence program at the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre, said the Japanese bid was higher risk and higher reward than Germany’s.
“TKMS is highly experienced in this area and there will be high confidence in their ability to deliver,” he said.
Germany was upset when the government this year slashed its contract with German shipbuilder Luerssen for 12 offshore patrol vessels to six, and last year when German firm Rheinmetall’s bid to build 129 infantry fighting vehicles was snubbed in favour of South Korea’s Hanwha.
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