The recent Australia-Japan security pact is the best example of how states are entering into partnerships to address non-traditional security issues w
The recent Australia-Japan security pact is the best example of how states are entering into partnerships to address non-traditional security issues while countering the growing assertiveness of their rival states in the region. No doubt, this security pact between Australia and Japan will intensify the ongoing geopolitical rivalry in the Indo-Pacific region as increasing security of one creates insecurity for other states in international relations which is known as the ‘security dilemma’.
Current Situation in the Indo-Pacific
The late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe originally proposed the concept of Indo-Pacific in 2007 under the banner of the “confluence of two oceans.” Geographically, the Indo-Pacific refers to the region between the Indian and Pacific Oceans that is interconnected. From a geostrategic point of view, the Indo-Pacific has been seen as a single area that spans the two oceans and is connected by the straits of Malacca, which is crucial for the transportation of energy and goods. The Indo-Pacific has become a theatre for geostrategic powerplay because of a couple of reasons. The first one is the growing influence of China in the region. And it has prompted the US to deploy its own initiatives in a bid to offset the growing influence of China there, which is the second reason.
China has successfully established itself as a regional power over the last few decades. Its growing economic and military power has been a major concern for the US and its allies in the region. China is now striving to expand its dominance worldwide, making the Indo-Pacific very crucial for China. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been instrumental to expand its influence in the strategically significant Indo-Pacific. Under the BRI, China has been able to deepen its bilateral ties with the littoral states of the region by establishing new trade links, offering financial assistance, and disbursing a massive amount of aid. In addition, the Chinese defense budget has increased fourfold since 2007 and now it maintains the world’s largest blue water navy.
The US, in response, shifted its focus from Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific under the “Indo-Pacific Strategy” (IPS) in 2017. It aims to maintain a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ and establish a ‘rule-based international order’ against Chinese aggressive behavior in the region. Such as Chinese claims in the South and East China Seas have brought international criticisms and prompted collective responses by forming alliances with like-minded states. The growing number of security alliances has been a major highlight in the Indo-Pacific. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, also known as QUAD, along with AUKUS, ANZUS, and Five Eyes are the prominent alliances in the Indo-Pacific region. The recent security pact signed between Australia and Japan is a new addition to the existing framework to counter Chinese growing influence in the region. However, one big difference here is that the newly signed security pact is bilateral whereas the rest of them are multilateral in nature.
The Pact in the Changing Geopolitical Environment in the Indo-Pacific
On Oct. 22, 2022, during the annual Australia-Japan Leaders’ Meeting in Perth, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida signed a new bilateral security pact. This is essentially an update to a 15-year-old agreement between the two nations that was signed in 2007. The new security pact builds on a “reciprocal access agreement” that Kishida signed with then-Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in January 2022, which eliminates impediments to staging joint military drills in either nation. It signifies the deepening security cooperation between Australia and Japan, both of which share a common threat perception emanating from China. As Kishida stated the new security agreement had been developed in response to an “increasingly harsh strategic environment” in the region. Moreover, this was the fourth time that both leaders met since May. In 2014, the two countries upgraded their bilateral relations to a “Special Strategic Partnership.” On the occasion of signing the new security pact, the Australian Prime Minister told that “this landmark declaration sends a strong signal to the region of our strategic alignment.” Both leaders also asserted that the pact will act as a “compass” for security collaboration for the next ten years and more.
The newly signed security pact has multiple dimensions as it not only includes military-to-military cooperation, but also non-traditional security cooperations like in economy, energy, and environment. Under the pact, Australia and Japan will share more sensitive intelligence, along with joint military exercises between Australia’s armed forces and Japanese self-defense forces in Northern Australia. The security cooperation is crucial in the sense that, only in the last year, Japanese warplanes had to scramble 722 times in response to Chinese aircraft violating Japan’s territorial sovereignty repeatedly. Both leaders also expressed their commitment to nuclear disarmament which was originally an important component of the 2007 draft declaration. Now, the issue has been revamped under the fear of Russian nuclear strikes on Ukraine and North Korean missiles nearby Japan. Moreover, the deal has opened a new window of cooperation in cybersecurity between countries.
From an economic dimension, the agreement alludes to collaboration in “resisting economic coercion and disinformation,” which China is commonly accused of doing. China is accused of pursuing a ‘neo-techno nationalist’ policy and continuously favoring its own industry over others by violating the rule of law in doing international business.
Fonte: Thegeopolitics.com
