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JAPAN TIES Growing power tension in the Indo-Pacific region mean the time has come for Australia to consider broadening its security partnerships, with Japan at the forefront BY PETER HUNTER
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s Australia confronts an increasingly unstable Indo-Pacific security environment, it is time for Canberra to carefully cultivate security relationships with a range of regional partners. There is no doubt the US will remain a pivotal player in regional affairs, but in addition to that vital relationship Australia needs to broaden its security partnerships to create further opportunities. The prevalence of coercive statecraft in the region begs tough questions about the application of our elements of national power, both in the way
we advance our security interests in the region and, when necessary, how we counter hostile behaviour, especially political warfare and grey zone actions. All of this means we need to take a closer look at partnerships to help us meet those challenges. Where once we counted on our military’s possession of an edge in capability, and our alliance with the US, to provide deterrence and influence in the region, in this new era of ‘winning without fighting’ it is increasingly clear that those models are a necessary but not sufficient response. Defence needs to broaden its value proposition to government by being able to contribute its capabilities within a wider range of international influences. On top of its warfighter roles, this will mean closer collaboration with other government agencies and international partners to generate the access, influence and deterrence we need. Success will, in part, depend on achieving the mutual benefits that will come from working more closely with our friends – and Japan is such a friend. Australia and Japan already enjoy a close bilateral relationship in defence, so it stands to reason that both sides can profit by closely aligning their responses to these major shifts in geostrategic circumstances. Australian and Japanese military forces have been cooperating for decades on joint military training exercises and in response to security
