The Australian and Japanese prime ministers met in Tokyo last week and discussed trade, energy, environment, and defense matters. But the defense part gets the attention, as both leaders agreed “in principle” on a Reciprocal Access Agreement. The RAA makes it easier for each nation’s troops to operate in each other’s country. It’s the first such agreement Japan has signed with a country besides the United States.
One imagines the Australians are wondering why it took six years to reach a deal, while the Japanese are probably congratulating themselves for having done it so fast.
The Japanese and Australian militaries are not total strangers. Japanese troops have been training in Australia since the early 2010s, to include sending ships and troops to the Talisman Saber exercise. Japanese ships have recently exercised alongside the Australian Navy in the Indian Ocean Malabar Exercise and in the South China Sea....MORE
