(Press Release: Provisional Translation)
17 November, 2024
Ministry of Defense
On Sunday, November 17, 2024, Minister of Defense Nakatani held the Australia-Japan-United States Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting, etc. during the visit to Australia (Darwin). The summary of the visit is as follows.
- Australia-Japan-United States Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting and Related Events
On Sunday, November 17, commencing at 10:30 AM (local time) for approximately 75 minutes, Minister Nakatani held the Australia-Japan-United States Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, and United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III at HMAS Coonawarra. (Attachment 1: Joint Statement)
In addition, Minister Nakatani, Secretary Austin and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Marles visited the cenotaph in Darwin City, offered flowers and a moment of silence at the cenotaph, and visited HMAS Coonawarra and RAAF Base Darwin. -
Japan-Australia Defense Ministers’ Meeting
On Sunday, November 17, commencing at 3:15 PM (local time) for approximately 30 minutes, Minister Nakatani held the Japan-Australia Defense Ministers’ Meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Marles at RAAF Base Darwin. The summary is as follows.
(1) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Marles congratulated Minister Nakatani on his assumption of office, and Minister Nakatani expressed his gratitude. In addition, Minister Nakatani stated that Japan and Australia are an indispensable partnership and that he would like to work closely with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Marles to elevate the relationship to a higher level.
(2) Following the Australia-Japan-United States Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting, the two Ministers discussed deepening operational cooperation and joint training, and agreed to conduct more complex and high-end operational cooperation and joint training, utilizing the Japan-Australia Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) as well. They also agreed to enhance deepened bilateral operational cooperation to deter unilateral changes to the status quo by force, as announced at the Japan-Australia "2 + 2" Meeting in September 2024. Furthermore, the Ministers welcomed that the first Japanese Joint Staff Liaison Officer will be soon dispatched to Australia’s Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) and confirmed that they will strengthen collaboration between respective command centers of Japan and Australia.
(3) The two Ministers welcomed the progress in discussions on the scope, objectives and forms of enhanced operational cooperation, based on the Australia-Japan Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation (JDSC).
(4) The two Ministers agreed to further promote Japan-Australia defense cooperation, such as cooperation on counterstrike capabilities utilizing Japanese stand-off defense capabilities and Australia's long-range strike capability, as well as defense equipment and industry cooperation through the to-be-newly established Deputy-Director-General level consultations between technological authorities.
-
Japan-U.S. Defense Ministers’ Meeting
On Sunday, November 17, commencing at 5:05 PM (local time) for approximately 30 minutes, Minister Nakatani held the Japan-U.S. Defense Ministers’ Meeting with Secretary Austin. (Attachment 2: Summary)
-
Visit to the Memorial of I-124 Submarine
On Sunday, November 17, commencing at 6:50 PM (local time) for approximately 10 minutes, Minister Nakatani visited the memorial of the Imperial Japanese Navy I-124 Submarine, and offered flowers and offered a silent prayer at the memorial.