May 18, 2021
１． In mid May, Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS BALLARAT began monitoring and surveillance activities against illicit maritime activities, including ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean-flagged vessels prohibited by the United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs), in waters surrounding Japan. This is the fifth of such activities by Royal Australian Navy Vessels since 2018.
２． Japan welcomes these activities from the viewpoint of ensuring effective implementation of the relevant UNSCRs in solidarity with the international community toward the realization of North Korea’s dismantlement of all weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all ranges in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner.