Japan, New Zealand in talks on sharing data

Solomon Islands-China pact a concern

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — As China moves to expand its influence in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan and New Zealand have opened talks on an agreement for “seamless” sharing of classified information, a step that could strengthen Tokyo’s case to eventually join the “Five Eyes” intelligence partnership among English-speaking powers.

An announcement of the negotiations, during a visit to Tokyo on Thursday by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, came two days after the Solomon Islands said it had reached a security agreement with China, provoking unease among Western- aligned powers in the region. The deal, according to a leaked document, could allow Beijing to deploy troops to the Solomons, and perhaps even result in the first Chinese military base in the Pacific.

“The announcement speaks to both countries’ concerns about China,” said Anna Powles, a senior lecturer in security studies at Massey University in New Zealand, “which have been amplified over the past few weeks with the signing of the security agreement” in the Solomons.

Ardern and the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, made their concerns clear in announcing the proposed intelligence agreement. They emphasized “growing strategic challenges” in the Pacific and their opposition to “unilateral actions that seek to alter the status quo by force” in the East and South China Seas. The latter appeared to be a reference to Chinese efforts to construct artificial islands for military use and its encroachment on disputed territories.

The agreement would bring Japan closer to the Five Eyes partnership, through which the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have for the past 75 years been sharing much of the intelligence they gather.

In 2020, the Japanese defense minister at the time, Taro Kono, proposed Japanese membership in a revamped “Six Eyes” partnership. Last year, Shingo Yamagami, Japan’s ambassador to Australia, said he “would like to see this idea become reality in the near future.”