澳大利亞與日本簽署防務協議，因為對中國的擔憂上升

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Australia, Japan Sign Defense Pact as China Concerns Loom

6 Jan 2022

Associated Press | By Haruka Nuga and Steve McMorran

SYDNEY — The leaders of Japan and Australia signed a “landmark” defense agreement Thursday that allows closer cooperation between their militaries and stands as a rebuke to China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in a virtual summit to sign the Reciprocal Access Agreement, the first such defense pact signed by Japan with any country other than the United States.

The agreement follows more than a year of talks between Japan and Australia aimed at breaking down legal barriers to allow the troops of one country to enter the other for training and other purposes.

“Japan is our closest partner in Asia as demonstrated by our special strategic partnership — Australia’s only such partnership,” Morrison said. “An equal partnership, shared trust between two great democracies committed to the rule of law, human rights, free trade and a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Kishida hailed the agreement as “a landmark instrument which will elevate security cooperation between the nations to new heights.”

While China wasn’t mentioned, its significance at the signing was implicit.

Japan’s ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, said that “in light of the deteriorating security environment, what Japan and Australia can do together is first of all to increase deterrence.”

Morrison said the agreement “will form an important part of Australia and Japan’s response to the uncertainty we now face and will underpin greater and more complex engagement in operability between the Australia Defense Force and Japan Self-Defense Forces.”

He called the pact a "pivotal moment for Australia and Japan and (for) the security of our two nations and our people.”

Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the agreement recognized the importance of establishing firm defense partnerships to deter an increasingly aggressive China.

“Japan is breaking away from its post-war constitutional constraints on the use of military force because Tokyo recognizes the challenges it is facing from China,” he told Sky News. “There is a territorial dispute between China and Japan ... and more significantly there is a growing concern China will make a move over Taiwan in the next few years.”

The pact builds on the strategic dialogue known as “the Quad,” which includes Japan, Australia, the United States and India. Australia last year also signed the AUKUS agreement with the United States and Britain, both of which have pledged to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

Translation

悉尼 - 週四，日本和澳大利亞領導人簽署了一項“具有里程碑意義的”防務協議，該協議允許兩國軍隊之間進行更密切的合作，這是對中國在印太地區日益增強的獨斷行為的訓誡。

澳大利亞總理斯科特·莫里森和日本首相岸田文雄在虛擬峰會上會面，簽署了互惠准入協議，這是日本與美國以外的任何國家簽署的第一個此類防務協議。

該協議是在日本和澳大利亞進行了一年多的談判之後達成的，旨在打破法律障礙，允許一個國家的軍隊進入另一個國家進行訓練和其他目的。

莫里森說: “日本是我們在亞洲最親密的伙伴, 正如我們的特殊戰略夥伴關係所證明 - 澳大利亞是唯一的這樣的伙伴”; “有著平等夥伴關係的兩個共同信任致力於法治、人權、自由貿易和自由開放的印太地區的偉大民主國家” 。

岸田稱該協議是“具有里程碑意義的,將兩國安全合作提升到新高度的文書”。

雖然沒有提到中國，但它在簽署時的意義是隱含的。

日本駐澳大利亞大使Shingo Yamagami表示， “鑑於安全環境不斷惡化，日本和澳大利亞可以共同做的事是首先增加威懾力” 。

莫里森表示，該協議 “將成為澳大利亞和日本應對我們現在面臨的不確定性的重要組成部分，並將支持澳大利亞國防軍和日本自衛隊在可操作性方面進行更廣泛、更複雜的接觸。”

他稱該協議是“澳大利亞和日本的一個關鍵時刻,亦是對我們兩國和其人民的安全(而言)”。

澳大利亞戰略政策研究所的高級分析師 Malcolm Davis 表示，該協議承認建立牢固的國防夥伴關係以阻止日益咄咄逼人的中國的重要性。

他告訴天空新聞(Sky News),“日本正在擺脫戰後憲法對使用武力的限制，因為東京認識到它面臨來自中國的挑戰” ;  “中國和日本之間存在領土爭端……更重要的是，人們越來越擔心中國將在未來幾年內對台灣採取行動。”

該協議建立在被稱為 “the Quad” 的戰略對話之上，其中包括日本、澳大利亞、美國和印度。澳大利亞去年還與美國和英國簽署了AUKUS協議，兩國都承諾幫助澳大利亞獲得核動力潛艇。

So, the leaders of Japan and Australia have signed a “landmark” defense agreement as a rebuke to China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. In the past year Australia has become more active in dealing with China.