Tokyo 2+2 talks: Wong says Australia and Japan must lead Indo-Pacific coalition for regional security

Penny Wong says the Australia-Japan alliance should serve as the “foundation” for a network of like-minded nations advancing Indo-Pacific peace amid a “highly challenging” landscape.

Australia’s Foreign Minister made the remarks to her Japanese counterpart Iwaya Takeshi and the country’s Defence Minister Gen Nakatani at the opening of “2+2” talks in Tokyo alongside Richard Marles.

The talks mark the 12th engagement between Australia and Japan defence and foreign ministers and follows Canberra’s historic $10 billion frigate warship deal.

Senator Wong said pressures and uncertainties on both nations were greater than in recent years and while describing the partnership as already strong, declared there was room to strengthen it.

“We do meet at a time where the geo-strategic context is highly challenging. I think we all understand that, and we know our region is more contested,” Senator Wong said.

“We know that we are both confronting circumstances which are much more difficult and challenging than we have experienced for many years.”

In response to Mr Takeshi’s remarks about regional stability depending on alliances in a “multi-layered network of like minded countries”, Ms Wong said Australia and Japan need to be at the forefront.

“We see our partnership as foundational to that network,” Senator Wong said.

“We’re not just partners, we’re friends, and we are more strategically aligned than we have ever been, and our strategic trust is deeper than it has ever been.

“We are doing more with each other in our relationship, but we are also doing more in our region, in Southeast Asia, in the Pacific.

“We’re partners in our region, and we’re partners globally.

“What we would say to you is our partnership is strong, but we can make it stronger.”

Mr Marles described it as a “special strategic partnership” in his address and added global uncertainty was prompting the relationship to “blossom in a way that really we haven’t seen before”.

“In the world we’re in today, which is increasingly complex where the strategic landscape is increasingly difficult, what we are also experiencing between ourselves is the highest level of strategic trust that we have ever had,” Mr Marles said.

He also raised the historic $10 billion deal Japan had won to head Australia’s 11-frigate fleet expansion.

Under the plan he announced in early August alongside Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will deliver three frigates — the first by 2029 to be operational in 2030 — followed by the remaining two shortly after.

By then it’s expected Australia will be in the position to build the remaining eight frigates at the Henderson precinct south of Perth through shipbuilders Austal.

The Defence Minister also used the opportunity to clarify that while the deal could strengthen the alliance, Australia chose Japan because it was the “best frigate for our country” and “cost effective”.

“Can I say, in respect of the Mogami-class frigate, this was a capability-based decision for Australia. First and foremost, we chose the Mogami because it was the best frigate for our country,” he said.

“More than that, it was, in terms of the life of the capability, the most cost effective solution for Australia.

“The consequence of that decision is that it does bring us even closer together.

“It is obviously a very significant moment in terms of Japan’s defense industry, and we really hope that what comes from that is also a much closer relationship between our respective defense industries.”

Mr Marles and Senator Wong will also tour a frigate while they’re in Japan.

While the remainder of the Tokyo meeting is behind closed doors, the group is expected to focus on increasing collaboration across “economic ties, cyber security, regional security, and multilateral affairs”.

The Tokyo talks come as US President Donald Trump signed an executive order overnight to lower tariffs on Japanese automobiles and auto parts to 15 per cent — down from 27.5 per cent.

Last year’s “2+2” talks were held at Fort Queenscliff in Victoria.