China responds to historic Australia-Japan defence pact
Beijing says Australia and Japan will pay a price for signing an historic agreement, accusing the two countries of being ‘tools’ of the US.
Beijing’s leading propaganda outlet says Australia and Japan will pay a price for signing an historic defence agreement, accusing the two countries of being “tools” for the United States.
Scott Morrison has succeeded in striking the agreement with Japan that will be critical to underpinning security in the Indo-Pacific region, nearly six years after it was first conceived and amid an increasingly challenging security environment.
The Prime Minister said the significance of the agreement “could not be understated” when announcing the pact in Tokyo on Tuesday, saying it was a “pivotal moment” in the bilateral relationship.
Chinese propaganda outlet The Global Times blasted the defence deal between Mr Morrison and new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday.
#环çƒæ—¶æŠ¥Editorial: Some analysts believe that Japan and Australia have formed a quasi military alliance. They show a confrontational posture because of their strategic concerns over China. They should know the potential strategic dangers of doing so. https://t.co/3DMEOiaM9k pic.twitter.com/aByQNyVtoT
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) November 17, 2020
“This is not only unfair, but also very dangerous. China is unlikely to remain indifferent to US moves aimed at inciting countries to gang up against China in the long run. It’s inevitable that China will take some sort of countermeasures,” the GT editorial states.
“Countries like Japan and Australia have been used as US tools. The strategic risk for a tool to be damaged is certainly higher than that of a user. We suggest Japan and Australia exercise restraint on the way to form a quasi military alliance against China.
“They should better not create confrontations with China under the instigation of the US, or follow the US step to rope India in to contain China. They will surely pay a corresponding price if China’s national interests are infringed upon and its security is threatened.”
Japan pact ‘adds to region’s stability’: Morrison
Mr Morrison has struck a historic defence agreement with Japan that will be critical to underpinning security in the Indo-Pacific region during a visit to Tokyo.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement will enable Australian ships and aircraft to operate further north with greater regularity, and follows a commitment last month for Japan’s Self-Defence Forces to use force to protect Australian military assets.
The RAA was agreed to “in principle” in Tokyo on Tuesday and will be finalised by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in Australia next year. It streamlines each nation’s use of the other’s military bases and will be crucial to upholding regional security as China adopts a more aggressive stance in the region.
Mr Morrison last night said China should not fear the signing of the defence treaty. “This is a significant evolution of this relationship, but there is no reason for that to cause any concern elsewhere in the region,” he said. “I think it adds to the stability of the region, which is a good thing.”
Earlier, he said the RAA represented a pivotal moment in the history of Japan-Australia ties. “We share a Special Strategic Partnership and are deeply committed to working together in support of a free, open, inclusive and stable Indo-Pacific. Our partnership is built on shared values and interests, and enduring trust and respect.”
Nevertheless, the agreement has been sealed during a period of heightened tensions between Australia and Chin.
Mr Morrison’s meeting with Mr Suga was historic as it marked the first time he had ventured overseas since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The leaders shared a one-on-one meeting, where they discussed how the Biden administration would prioritise the region in its recalibration of US global engagement, including in the Asia-Pacific, after four years of “America First” under Donald Trump.
Mr Morrison and Mr Suga had dinner together in the hour before announcing the treaty.
The defence pact has been under negotiation since 2014, with one major sticking point being concerns an Australian serviceman or woman could face the death penalty if convicted of murder or other serious offences on Japanese territory.
Asked how this issue had been “ironed out”, Mr Morrison didn’t specify, but said Australia would “meet all of its obligations under its international agreements.”
Mr Morrison’s physical visit to Japan signals a stepping up of Australia’s engagement with one of its core Indo-Pacific and Quadrilateral Security Dialogue partners, and follows Australia’s long-awaited return to India’s Malabar naval exercise last month after a 13-year hiatus, in a move that reaffirmed the potential of the Quad as an informal military alliance.
Hydrogen exports were also high on the agenda during Mr Morrison’s whistlestop visit and he told a roundtable of Japanese business leaders that Australia shared Japan’s ambition of achieving net zero emissions.
However, he would not commit to a target before he a roadmap is finalised about how to achieve it.
It comes as Mr Suga, used his first policy speech in the Japanese diet as leader last month to commit to net-zero by 2050.
PM’s bond ‘off to a cracker of a start’
Scott Morrison says his relationship with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshihide Suga, “got off to a cracker of a start” when meeting for the first time in Tokyo.
The Prime Minister said he had been invited to call Mr Suga “Yoshi” and invited him to visit Australia next year to formally sign a historic defence pact that streamlines the use of each other’s military bases.
Mr Morrison said Mr Suga could call him “Scomo” as his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, had done.
“I think our first impressions were shared and they were very warm,” Mr Morrison said. “We did have the opportunity tonight to have a one on one discussion, obviously with interpreters … but despite the language barrier, there was a very easy and warm connection.
Mr Morrison said the fact he had travelled during a pandemic and would have to quarantine for two weeks when he returns to Canberra and miss part of the final parliamentary sitting fortnight was a testament to the strength of the relationship.
“It’s not a small thing for a prime minister in the middle of a pandemic to take that opportunity, and I have two weeks’ [quarantine] when I return, including having to participate in Parliament by video link,” he said. That’s how important it was to me to ensure that it continue, the momentum we had with Prime Minister Abe.”
Mr Morrison was the first foreign leader to speak to Mr Suga when he took office from Mr Abe in September, and his physical visit signals a stepping up of global engagement in a season of virtual summits.
Mr Suga pulled out all the stops for the Australian prime minister, marking his arrival at the Kantei with a performance of Advance Australia Fair by a masked-band.
Mr Morrison said that he and Mr Suga were similar in the way they had also come to office in “unpredictable circumstances”.
Mr Suga became Japan’s leader in September after Mr Abe stepped aside due to health issues, while Mr Morrison was elevated to prime minister after Malcolm Turnbull was rolled as leader.
Gifts from one Prime Minister to another
A Bill Granger cookbook, an indigenous painting and a set of Sydney 2000 Olympic medals are among the gifts Scott Morrison presented to his Japanese counterpart, Yoshihide Suga, when the two leaders met for the first time in Tokyo.
Mr Suga, who is said to have a penchant for the ricotta pancakes served at Aussie chef Bill Granger’s cafe in Tokyo’s Ginza district, is understood to have loved the gifts.
The Prime Minister travelled overseas for the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic on Monday to meet with Mr Suga, but will have to quarantine for two weeks when he returns to Canberra - a move, Mr Morrison said, was a testament to the strength of the relationship.
Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga pulls out all the stops for Scott Morrison as the two world leaders meet for the first time. Epic performance of the Australian and Japanese national anthems. @australian #auspol 🇯🇵🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/G2OVYVoC7K
— Olivia Caisley (@livcaisley) November 17, 2020
A red hand-blown vase emblazoned with a kangaroo paw by Aussie artist Amanda Louden was picked out by Jenny Morrison and given to the Japanese prime minister’s wife, Suga Mariko.
An Indigenous painting called ‘Bush Plum Dreaming’ by Sonya Petrick Ngwarraye was also given to Mr Suga.
A description about the $730 work and the dreamtime story behind it says “the bush plum seeds were said to have blown across the ancestral lands by strong winds before eventually blossoming into fruit” - perhaps a thinly veiled nod to Mr Suga and Mr Morrison’s “blooming” relationship.
Mr Morrison was the first foreign leader to meet with Mr Suga on Japanese soil since he took over from Mr Abe in September and was met by a band that played a soaring rendition of both the Australian and Japanese national anthems.
During his whistle-stop tour to Tokyo Mr Morrison also squeezed in a meeting with Mr Suga’s predecessor, Shinzo Abe.
The former prime minister received a set of two whisky glasses from Mr Morrison, valued at $151 and a Single Malt whisky from Lark Distillery in Tasmania, valued at $241.
Mr Morrison was the first foreign leader to speak to Mr Suga when he took office from Mr Abe in September, and his physical visit signals a stepping up of global engagement in a season of virtual summits.
The key part of the trip was the “in-principle” signing of a reciprocal access agreement that streamlines the two nation’s use of each other’s military bases.
Once the signing ceremony was complete the leaders dined on sashimi, Japanese fillet steak with taro, asparagus, burdock and bell pepper.
Australian wine, which is currently the subject of a fierce trade war with China, was not on the menu.
The leaders were aptly offered Japanese varieties - a 2017 Izutzu chardonnay and a 2015 Solaris Shinshu cabernet sauvignon.
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