Australia, Japan sign “groundbreaking” defense deal against China’s growing military power

Alessio Patalano, a professor of East Asian Strategy at King’s College London, said the RAA agreement supports broader and stronger cooperation in defense.

“Aukus is largely Australia’s way of getting the UK and the US to work with them in science and technology.

“RAA is what [Japan and Australia] they need to start training to pool capacity to be useful in the future. It’s a practical agreement, but it invites further talks. “

Unlike NATO, there is little in common between partner countries in Asia that would allow military systems to work with each other. The RAA agreement will allow for political discussions on how to deepen military cooperation in the region.

“That’s why it’s so important,” Mr Patalano told The Telegraph. “This is the beginning of translating talks on cooperation into military effectiveness.

“It creates more complex [security] a web that the Chinese have to deal with … but they can’t do much about it. “

With the Aukus and RAA treaties signed in the last six months, “it shows that the US allies have merged,” Patalano said.

“The Chinese will not open a bottle of champagne today.”

Concerns about China’s military stance in the South China Sea and aggression against Taiwan have led Japan to move away from its post-war constitutional restrictions on the use of military force.

Japan is likely to seek to extend the RAA treaty to include Britain, especially given the opportunities created by the UK-Japan agreement signed in December 2021 to develop engines for future jet fighters.