Shared responsibility with Japan

It would be difficult to overstate the significance of a two-day visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in which he will meet with Anthony Albanese in Perth on Saturday, where the pair will agree to dramatically strengthen defence, energy and food security ties between the two nations. The meeting is the third bilateral meeting between the two leaders since Mr Albanese took office in May and comes amid great disruption in global energy markets and heightened tensions about China’s increasingly assertive posture in our region.

As Greg Sheridan reports on Saturday, Mr Kishida and Mr Albanese will sign a new Joint Declaration on Security Co-operation that represents a strong advance on the 2007 declaration signed by Shinzo Abe and John Howard. A lot has changed in terms of priorities and strategic outlook since then. Where the Howard pact was concerned mostly with terrorism, nuclear non-proliferation and North Korea, today’s focus is on building deterrence and strength in the face of Chinese military assertiveness.

The new pact is not a military alliance but its language is almost identical to Australia’s ANZUS treaty with the US. It will commit Australia and Japan to consult each other on contingencies that affect each other’s security, and consult on responses to such contingencies. As Sheridan writes, that language is almost an exact reproduction of the formal provisions of the ANZUS treaty, and no one in the region will miss the connection. Mr Kishida has condemned Beijing’s military actions in waters near Japan and has said Japan and Australia share the same position on Taiwan, as well as G7 countries, and expected that the issue of Taiwan’s relations with Beijing would be settled peacefully. The new agreement comes as US naval operations chief Admiral Mike Gilday has warned the world should be prepared for China to take action against Taiwan at any time. China’s President Xi Jinping repeated in his opening speech to the Communist Party Congress in Beijing on Sunday his vow to unify with the island. Mr Xi said China sought peaceful reunification but would “ never promise to give up the option to use force”.

As well as defence, Japan is particularly concerned about the potential for disruption to energy supplies. Mr Albanese is expected to assure Mr Kishida that Australia will not be interrupting long-term gas contracts with Japan, which historically has strategically relied on Australia for energy security. Safeguarding the relationship on energy is fundamental to preserving the deep ties and strong economic and security co-operation between the two nations. This extends to Queensland’s unilateral changing of the royalty treatment of established coalmines in that state. Japanese officials expressed dismay at the action, which was taken without consultation. The war in Ukraine has underscored how energy security is a first-order issue for governments, particular for countries that depend on others for supplies of gas and coal. Japan is justified in seeking assurances from Australia, and the Albanese government must always remember what our energy exports mean for regional prosperity, stability and security.