Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hold koalas during a visit to Kings Park in Perth, Australia, on Oct. 22. Kishida is on a visit to bolster military and energy cooperation between Australia and Japan amid their shared concerns about China. (Pool Photo via AP)

As democracy, human rights and the rule of law are values shared by Japan and Australia, it is only natural they collaborate in dealing with China’s naval advances in the East and South China Seas and beyond into the South Pacific Ocean.

In addition to not allowing China to change the status quo by force, Japan-Australia cooperation should also foster dialogue and mutual trust and contribute to peace and stability in the region.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Australia and met with his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, on Oct. 22. They jointly signed a new Japan-Australia Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation.

The original joint declaration was signed in 2007 by then-Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and John Howard.

Since then, the partners have deepened cooperation between the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) of Japan and the Australian Defense Force (ADF) through the Japan-Australia Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement (ACSA) and the Japan-Australia Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA).

The ACSA promotes reciprocal provision of supplies and services between the SDF and the ADF while the RAA stipulates procedures between Japan and Australia for cooperative activities conducted by the defense forces of one country while visiting the other country.

Considered “the compass for the next decade,” the updated joint declaration calls for further enhanced interoperability between the SDF and the ADF and declares, “We will consult each other on contingencies that may affect our sovereignty and regional security interests, and consider measures in response.”

Kishida told a news conference that the agreement “does not have any specific nation or region in mind,” but there is no question that China is that nation.

However, peaceful coexistence with China must be what many nations want, including ASEAN members that have strong economic ties with China, and India, which maintains its traditional position of nonalignment even as a Quad member.

Faced with China’s growing presence, Japan has called for a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and sought Australian and European security cooperation on the basis of the Japan-U.S. alliance.

However, Japan and Australia would defeat the purpose of their cooperation, should it become excessively militaristic in nature and cause a heightening of tensions or a rift in the region. The cooperation must be balanced, and for that, it must include diplomatic efforts.

For Japan which relies on natural resources imports, it is crucial to maintain close relations with Australia, one of the world’s top resource-rich nations. And this is all the more vital now, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the weak yen raising energy and other import prices sky high, impacting the economy and people’s daily lives.

In that sense, we welcome the fact that Kishida and Albanese also confirmed their cooperation on energy issues.

Nearly 40 percent of Japan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and close to 70 percent of coal imports are from Australia. At one time, Australia considered restricting its LNG exports to secure its own needs at home, although such an eventuality was averted.

With no more supplies coming from Russia's Sakhalin-2 development project in the Far East, the possibility of a dire energy shortage still exists for Japan. The nation needs to keep appealing to Australia to keep up its international responsibility as a stable supplier of resources.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 26

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