Opening remarks Australia - Japan Defence Ministers meeting

SUBJECTS: Australia‑Japan Defence Relationship. 

KOIZUMI SHINJIRO, JAPAN’S MINISTER OF DEFENSE (VIA TRANSLATOR): Richard, I am very happy to welcome you here in the Ministry of Defense. Thank you very much for coming over. We had a meeting in Malaysia only last month, and today I'm officially hosting you here in the Ministry of Defense. I believe it has a significance, as we can demonstrate both domestically and internationally our strong bonds in that way. This year has become a milestone for us as Australia’s selection of the upgraded Mogami class destroyer made another significant step forward to elevate Japan-Australia defence cooperation to greater heights. On that note, you made a visit to Nagasaki yesterday, and you actually felt and touched Japan's shipbuilding first hand. And earlier today, we shared a smooth ride in a Bushmaster, which is an Australian-made equipment operated by the Self Defense Forces. As it speaks, the cooperation through defence equipment has tightened our bilateral relationship. I believe the strong relationship between Japan and Australia will not stay only between us, but grow to be the core of a variety of regional frameworks. And we have the conclusion of the contract for Australia's next general purpose frigate and the revision of respective strategic documents of Japan and Australia coming up next year. Also, 2026 will mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Japan and Australia.

I note that an incident occurred on two occasions just yesterday, in which Chinese military aircraft intermittently conducted radar illumination on Self Defense Force aircraft. The radar illumination was a dangerous act that exceeded the scope necessary for the safe flight of the aircraft, and it was extremely regrettable that such an incident had occurred. Japan strongly protested against it and urged China to strictly prevent its recurrence. Japan will continue responding to such acts in a calm yet resolute manner for peace and stability in the region. In which the security environment is becoming increasingly severe, as we have been witnessing, I look to continue working together with you, Richard, to take forward Japan-Austria defence cooperation in a more concrete manner and I look forward to the great discussion today. Thank you. 

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Shin. Let me start with the incident last night. Australia and Japan are working together to promote a free and open Indo‑Pacific, where the rules‑based order applies. Both the defence forces of Japan and Australia are engaged in the work of asserting the global‑rules based order, which is fundamentally important for the peace and security of the Indo‑Pacific and for the maintenance of a free and open Indo‑Pacific. The events last night are concerning and Australia has also experienced concerning events in interactions with the PLA. We understand that there will be interactions between our respective defence forces and indeed the defence forces of China, but our absolute expectation is that those interactions are safe and are professional. And we will continue to stand with Japan in working with Japan to assert the rules‑based order in this region, and we will do it resolutely. 

Shin, you and I first met back in 2022 when we went for a run around the Imperial Palace and since then, we've been the very best of friends. And I'm so excited that my friend is now Japan's Minister of Defense. I'm really looking forward and enjoying working together as counterparts. Actually, our relationship is emblematic of the state of the relationship between our two countries. We have never been more strategically aligned than we are with Japan today. There is no country in the world today with whom we are more strategically aligned than Japan. And all of that is underpinned by a deep level of trust between our two countries. Today’s meeting is an opportunity to take that alignment and actually engage in integration between our two systems. And so as we begin what will really be a new means by which we have defence ministers’ meetings, today is a very significant day in the history of our defence relationship. From where I sit, I have watched Japan over the past few years grow in its presence in the region and in the world, and we very much welcome that. We very much welcome the defence and security reforms that we have seen in Japan. And the more that we work together as two countries, in fact the safer we feel as Australians, but the more that we are working together, the more that we bring peace and security and stability to the Indo‑Pacific. Japan is a critical contributor to the peace and security of the Indo Pacific, and our partnership is a very, very important part of that – I'm very much looking forward to our meeting today. 

ENDS