Japan and Australia sign security pact

Japan and Australia today signed a security pact to boost an increasingly close defence relationship, while the countries’ premiers downplayed concerns that the pact was directed specifically at China or other countries in the region.

Under the joint declaration signed in Tokyo by visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese forces will train alongside Australians for disaster relief and peacekeeping missions. The pact also calls for co-operation between the two countries in counter-terrorist measures and intelligence sharing.