Security cooperation between Australia and Japan has been strengthened in recent weeks following the 2018 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and the delivery of four more Bushmasters to the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force (JGSDF).
The delivery brings the total number exported to Japan to eight.
Minister for Defence Marise Payne met with her Japanese and US counterparts Tomoni Inada and James Mattis on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.
According to a statement released by Minister Payne, the three nations “affirmed their shared intent to promote trilateral and multilateral security and defence cooperation with each other, regional allies, and partners.
“Secretary Mattis and Minister Payne reiterated their support for Japan playing a greater role in regional and global security. Moreover, Secretary Mattis welcomed the further deepening of bilateral defence cooperation between Australia and Japan.”
It’s no secret that the US oversees a highly complex alliance system in the Pacific. Two of its most critical allies, Japan and South Korea, are at loggerheads over historical grievances, and the Philippines has become unpredictable under Rodrigo Duterte.
Japanese relations with Australia also suffered following the decision to buy French Shortfin Barracuda submarines for Sea 1000 over Japan’s Soryu-class, which was seen as the favourite before the Coalition leadership spill.
Mattis’ explicit support for a “further deepening of bilateral defence cooperation” between Canberra and Tokyo suggests that the US now wants to see more bilateral engagement from both sides, both militarily and on the industrial fronts.
US pressure could mean that Australian industry will find a welcoming customer in Japan, especially as Tokyo is now expected to ‘play a greater role in regional and global security’. The country has been steadily increasing its defence budget and PM Shinzo Abe is seeking to revise the constitution to allow for a more proactive Japanese military.
Japan is likely to play a large role in the Commonwealth’s ambitions to make Australia a major defence exporter. Those four Bushmasters may well be followed by more Australian technology.