Photo/Illutration From left: Penny Wong, Australia’s minister for foreign affairs; Richard Marles, Australia’s deputy prime minister and defense minister; Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba; Takeshi Iwaya, foreign minister, and Gen Nakatani, defense minister, on Sept. 5 in Tokyo (Takeshi Iwashita)

Foreign and defense ministers from Japan and Australia met in Tokyo on Sept. 5 to deepen their security cooperation to counter China's growing military presence in the Indo-Pacific region. 

Among the agenda items at the Japan-Australia Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations, known as "2+2," was a landmark agreement to jointly develop new warships for the Australian Navy. 

This was the 12th time the 2+2 has been held and the first since September. The attendees from Japan were Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani.

The attendees from Australia were Penny Wong, foreign affairs minister, and Richard Marles, deputy prime minister and defense minister.

As China increases its military activities in the East and South China seas, Japan is strengthening its security cooperation with Australia, a country it considers a "quasi-ally."

In August, the Australian government was considering bids for its navy's new warship program.

It chose a proposal to jointly develop vessels with Japan, which will be based on an upgraded version of the Mogami-class frigate from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.

The Japanese company bid was chosen over a competing bid from a German rival.

Japan plans to tout this collaboration as a "major milestone," as it is the largest-ever joint project between the defense industries of Japan and Australia.

The agenda for the Sept. 5 meeting also includes visit by Nakatani and Marles to the Maritime Self-Defense Force base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, to inspect a Mogami-class frigate.

The two governments were expected to also discuss topics such as allowing Australian destroyers to use the MSDF base in Yokosuka for resupply and maintenance, and having the Air SDF participate in the Royal Australian Air Force's drone testing.

Furthermore, the two governments plan to sign a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on evacuating their citizens from other countries during emergencies, such as conflicts or disasters.

This will be the second such agreement for Japan, following a similar one inked with South Korea.

Japan and Australia are both important allies of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region.

However, there is concern that under the Trump administration's "America First" policy, the United States is becoming more inward-looking.

Therefore, Japan and Australia aim to keep China in check by strengthening their bilateral relationship.

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