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Australia, Japan sign defense pact as China concerns loom

Andrew Cuomo

By HARUKA NUGA and STEVE McMORRAN
Associated Press

SYDNEY (AP) — The leaders of Japan and Australia have signed a “landmark” defense agreement that allows closer cooperation between their militaries and stands as a rebuke to China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in a virtual summit to sign the Reciprocal Access Agreement, the first such defense pact signed by Japan with any country other than the United States. The agreement follows more than a year of talks between Japan and Australia aimed at breaking down legal barriers to allow the troops of one country to enter the other for training and other purposes.

Article Topic Follows: AP National News

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