Japan and Australia on Saturday signed a new security pact aimed at countering China's growing influence.

After talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in the western Australian city of Perth, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hailed ties between the two allies, which he said had reached a new level. The two countries vowed to share more sensitive intelligence and conduct joint war games.

Kishida told a news conference, "As one of the biggest achievements of this visit, I and Anthony signed a new joint declaration on security cooperation."

He said the new deal would be a "compass that shows the direction of bilateral security and defense cooperation for the next 10 years."

The new deal updates a 15-year-old agreement that focused more on issues of counterterrorism and North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons programs.

Japanese, Australian forces to train together

As well as intelligence sharing, Australia's armed forces and Japanese self-defense forces will also conduct exercises together in Northern Australia.

Some analysts believe the pact will help Japan to join the powerful Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance between Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.

Neither Australia nor Japan has overseas intelligence operatives and foreign informants on par with major Western intelligence organizations. But they do reportedly have formidable signals intelligence capabilities and high-tech satellites that provide invaluable intelligence on adversaries.

Albanese noted the "landmark declaration sends a strong signal to the region of our strategic alignment."

Without citing China or North Korea by name, the Japanese leader said the agreement was a response to an "increasingly harsh strategic environment."  

China flexing muscles in region

In recent years, China has built the world's largest navy, revamped the globe's biggest standing army, and amassed a nuclear and ballistic arsenal right on Japan's doorstep. 

Beijing also stepped up its threats to invade Taiwan, an island China considers its own, while territorial disputes continue to rage with other Asian neighbors.

China's relations with Australia nosedived two years ago when Canberra demanded an international probe into the origins of the COVID pandemic.

Energy ties strengthened

The two leaders promised greater cooperation on energy security and discussed climate change, expressing support for boosting investment in cleaner energies.

Japan is currently a major buyer of Australian iron ore, coal and gas for its high-end manufacturing sector and will require more rare earth minerals to aid the energy transition, including the move to electric vehicles.

Tokyo has also made a series of big bets on green hydrogen produced in Australia with renewable energies.

mm/ar (AFP, Reuters)