Joint statement - Seventh Japan-Australia 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations
Overview
1. Minister for Foreign Affairs ofJapan, Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister of Defense of Japan, Ms. Tomomi Inada,Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Julie Bishop and the AustralianMinister for Defence, Senator Marise Payne, met in Tokyo on 20 April for the SeventhJapan-Australia 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations.
2. The Ministers welcomed thecloser engagement between Japan and Australia since the sixth 2+2 meeting,including Prime Minister Abe's visit to Australia in January 2017. Theyreaffirmed their determination to further enhance the Special Strategic Partnershipbetween the two countries, founded on common values and strategic interestsincluding democracy, human rights, the rule of law, open markets and freetrade.
3. The Ministers underlined theimportance of ensuring a stable, free and open rules-based order across theIndo-Pacific region and beyond. They recognised the importance of ensuring freeand open sea-lanes as well as enhancing regional connectivity, including throughinfrastructure. They reaffirmed that Japan and Australia will continue to workproactively in this regard, together with our common ally, the United States,and other like-minded partners. With this in mind, the Australian side welcomedJapan's greater engagement in the region under its "Free and Open Indo-PacificStrategy".
Bilateraland Trilateral Security and Defence Cooperation
4. Marking the tenth anniversary ofthe 2007 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation, the Ministers renewed theirdetermination to strengthen security cooperation. They welcomed increasedcooperation in the areas of training and exercises, personnel exchanges,humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, maritime security, peacekeeping,capacity building, and defence equipment and technology. The Ministersidentified a suite of new initiatives to further enhance bilateral defenceengagement, including looking to establish a joint activity in 2018 in Japaninvolving fighter jets of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and theRoyal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
5. The Ministers welcomed the progressin their respective internal procedures necessary for the entry into force of thenew Japan-Australia Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement, signed on 14January 2017, which will facilitate greater mutual logistical support betweenthe Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Australian Defence Force. They acknowledgedpositive progress in negotiations toward an agreement to reciprocally improveadministrative, policy and legal procedures to facilitate joint operations andexercises, and reiterated the expectation expressed by Prime Ministers Abe andTurnbull in January 2017 that negotiations be concluded as early as feasible,preferably in 2017.
6. The Ministers welcomed thesecond meeting of the Japan-Australia Cyber Policy Dialogue in August 2016 aswell as intensified engagement between the two countries in the area of space,including the Japan-Australia Space Security Dialogue in October 2016. They stressedthe importance of further strengthening coordination and cooperation in thesedomains.
7. The Ministers highly valued thelong-standing and indispensable contribution made by the United States to the peace,security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region. They welcomed the intentionof the United States to strengthen its presence in the region. The Ministersreaffirmed the enduring importance of the US alliances with Japan andAustralia, which are the cornerstones of these countries' security as well asregional stability and prosperity. They expressed their willingness to continueworking closely with the United States to ensure the peaceful and prosperousfuture of the region.
8. The Ministers reaffirmed theircommitment to further enhance trilateral cooperation between Australia, Japanand the United States, underlining the importance of the Trilateral Strategic Dialogueand the Trilateral Defence Ministers' Meeting. The Ministers welcomed the signingof the 2016 Trilateral Information Sharing Arrangement as one of the concreteoutcomes of the Security and Defence Cooperation Forum.
9. Acknowledging India's strategicimportance in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, the Ministers reaffirmedtheir intention to further develop trilateral cooperation and coordinationamong Japan, Australia and India, including by holding a third seniorofficials' trilateral dialogue in the coming weeks in Canberra.
Regional andInternational Issues
10. The Ministers discussed theimportance of working through regional fora to support security, stability,economic growth and regional integration. They reaffirmed the critical role ofthe East Asia Summit (EAS) as the region's premier leaders-led forum forstrategic dialogue, and welcomed efforts to strengthen it. The Ministers also welcomedthe continued contributions of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the ASEANDefence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus).
11. The Ministers remainedseriously concerned about the situation in the South China Sea. They emphasised the importance ofself-restraint and their opposition to any unilateral actions which increasetensions. The Ministers also expressedtheir opposition to the use of disputed features for military purposes andurged all parties to pursue the demilitarisation of such features. Theyreaffirmed the importance of the 1982 United Nations Conventions on the Law ofthe Sea (UNCLOS) and urged relevant states to make and clarify territorial andmaritime claims based on international law. The Ministers called on parties todisputes in the South China Sea to refrain from using force or coercion intrying to advance such claims, and to seek to settle disputes by peaceful meansin accordance with international law.
12. The Ministers alsore-emphasised the importance of upholding the rules-based regional andinternational order, and called on all states to respect freedom of navigationand overflight, and unimpeded trade. The Ministers encouraged earlyfinalisation of an effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) onthe basisof international law, and in light of the awardrendered by the Arbitral Tribunal under the UNCLOS on 12 July 2016. They reiterated the need for ASEAN memberstates and China to ensure the full and effective implementation of theDeclaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in itsentirety.
13.The Ministers reaffirmed their intention to further enhance bilateral andJapan-Australia-US trilateral coordination and cooperation on maritime securitycapacity building in Southeast Asia.
14.The Ministers reiterated their opposition to any unilateral or coercive actionsthat could alter the status quo or increase tensions in the East China Sea.They also expressed their intention to remain in close contact on the situationin the area.
15. The Ministers reaffirmed theimportance of a constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with Chinathrough dialogue, cooperation, and engagement.
16. The Ministers reiteratedcondemnation in the strongest terms of North Korea's nuclear tests, multipleballistic missile launches and proliferation activities. They strongly urgedNorth Korea to cease its destabilising and provocative actions immediately andto fully comply with its international obligationsand commitments, including those underrelevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. The Ministers welcomedthe unanimous adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2321 and emphasisedthe importance of enhancing pressure on North Korea through full, thorough and sustained implementation by Member States of all relevant UNSecurity Council resolutions, including Resolutions 2270 and 2321. TheMinisters discussed Japan's and Australia's approaches to autonomous measuresand noted their complementarity. They strongly urged North Korea to end itshuman rights violations, to resolve the abductions issue immediately, and tofocus on the great unmet needs of the people of North Korea.
17. The Ministers welcomed thegrowing number of bilateral foreign policy consultations, including on NorthAsia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific and development cooperation, and reaffirmedtheir intention to further enhance bilateral coordination and cooperation onregional issues.
18. The Ministers welcomed theoutcomes of the first meeting of the Japan-Australia Pacific Policy Dialogue inOctober 2016. Recognising the complex challenges facing the Pacific region, theyunderscored the importance of further cooperation among Japan, Australia andthe Pacific island countries to build economic resilience and regional peaceand security. The Ministers reaffirmed their determination to strengthencooperation and coordination in the Pacific region under the Japan-AustraliaStrategy for Cooperation in the Pacificissuedby Foreign Ministers in February 2016.They resolved to cooperate closely towards the success of the Eighth PacificIslands Leaders Meeting (PALM 8), scheduled to be held in May 2018 in Iwaki,Fukushima.
19. TheMinisters expressed great concern at the continuing violence and lack ofhumanitarian access in Syria. They also expressed great concern at the use ofchemical weapons in Syria and reiterated their strong support for the necessarywork of the OPCW in respect of such use. The Ministers called on all countries with influence on the parties tothe conflict to ensure they engage in the negotiations under UN auspices tofind a political solution as soon as possible.
20. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitmentto continue their coordination on their respective efforts to counter terrorismand violent extremism including in the region, while expressing strong supportfor relevant efforts by the international community to address those threats.
21. The Ministers welcomed theJoint Statement on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which wasadopted at the Friends of the CTBT Ministerial Meeting in New York in September2016, co-chaired by the Foreign Ministers of Japan and Australia. This meetingmarked the 20th anniversary of the Treaty's opening for signature anddemonstrated the strong global norm against nuclear testing. The Ministers alsowelcomed Resolution 2310, adopted by the UN Security Council in September 2016, and reiterated the importance ofcooperation towards the early entry into force of the Treaty.
22. The Ministers reaffirmed Japanand Australia's determination to continue cooperation towards a world without nuclearweapons, through efforts on nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament and peacefuluses of nuclear energy, including practical progress towards the commencementof Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty negotiations and further cooperation onnuclear disarmament verification. As co-founders of the twelve-nationNon-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI), the Ministers underlinedthe crucial importance of all three mutually reinforcing pillars of the Treatyon the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the success of the 2020NPT Review Conference with the first Preparatory Committee meeting in May 2017.The Ministers welcomed the 2016 EAS Leaders' Statement on Non-Proliferation.
23. The Ministers stressed thestrategic importance of a free and open, rules-based trading system forregional stability and prosperity. In this regard, they reaffirmed thestrategic and economic significance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)Agreement and shared the intention to continue to work on a way forward. TheMinisters also reaffirmed that a high-quality and commercially meaningfulRegional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) offers opportunities forcloser regional economic integration.
24. Australia offered to host thenext meeting of Japan-Australia 2+2 Foreign and Defence MinisterialConsultations.