Japan PM Yoshihide Suga sign-on crucial to security

A historic defence pact Scott Morrison hopes to sign with his Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga is viewed by Australia as critical to underpinning security in the Indo-Pacific ­region.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Picture: AFP

A historic defence pact Scott Morrison hopes to sign with his Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga in Tokyo is viewed by Australia as critical to underpinning security in the Indo-Pacific ­region over the next century.

The in-principle Reciprocal Access Agreement would streamline each nation’s use of the other’s military bases and would be crucial to upholding ­regional security as Beijing adopts a more aggressive stance in the Indo-Pacific.

Australian hydrogen exports will also be high on the agenda when the Prime Minister makes a whistlestop tour to Tokyo on Tuesday to forge a relationship with Mr Suga, who took over from Shinzo Abe in September.

It comes as Mr Suga used his first policy speech in the Japanese diet as Prime Minister last month to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050. The decision has implications for Australia’s LNG and coal exports, of which Japan is one of the biggest consumers.

Hydrogen exports are poised as a big energy opportunity for Australia as Japan moves away from fossil fuels and Mr Morrison is expected to push this at a meeting with a local business chamber.

The leaders are expected to discuss how the Biden administration will prioritise the region in its recalibration of US global engagement, including in the Asia-Pacific, after four years of “America First” under Donald Trump.

In a year of virtual summits, 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.

It follows Australia’s long- awaited return to India’s Malabar naval exercise last month after a 13-year hiatus, in a move reaffirming the Quad’s potential as an informal military alliance.

The proposed RAA has been under negotiation since 2014, amid concerns over the legal status of Australian Defence Force personnel who might be implicated in crimes while in Japan, which retains the death penalty for the most serious offences.

It is hoped the agreement will help broaden and deepen Australia’s strategic defence partnership with Japan and see them playing a broader role in the Indo-Pacific by ramping up joint military operations, including patrols near disputed islands in the South and East China Sea.

It will be highly significant if an agreement is reached as it will be the first pact of its kind that Japan has signed since the 1960s when it entered a similar arrangement with the US.

Mr Morrison is expected to have back-to-back meetings on Tuesday and a one-on-one meeting with Mr Suga.