UK, JAPAN SET MAJOR DEFENSE DEAL
British and Japanese prime ministers will sign a “hugely significant” new defense deal allowing UK troops to deploy in Japan when the pair meet in London on Wednesday, Downing Street said.
The agreement is the latest sign of London’s growing interest in the Asia-Pacific region, and Tokyo’s efforts to strengthen its alliances to face the challenges posed by China.
The deal creates a legal basis for the deployment of British and Japanese troops on each others’ territory for training and other operations.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office called it “the most significant defense agreement between the two countries in more than a century.”
“In the past 12 months, we have written the next chapter of the relationship between the UK and Japan—accelerating, building and deepening our ties,” said Sunak.
“This Reciprocal Access Agreement is hugely significant for both our nations—it cements our commitment to the Indo-Pacific and underlines our joint efforts to bolster economic security.”
Negotiations on the deal, to be signed at the historic Tower of London, began in 2021.
Japan last January signed a similar accord with Australia, and Tokyo has recently overhauled its defense and security policy to address growing pressure from China.
British ships and aircraft can visit Japan and vice-versa, but it’s “diplomatically complicated” and requires foreign ministry clearance each time.
The new agreement will create a “standing framework” instead.
Japan has a pacifist postwar constitution, which limits its military capacity to ostensibly defensive measures.
But last month, the government approved plans to hike defense spending to 2 percent of GDP by 2027, up from the traditional 1-percent level, and warned that China poses the “greatest strategic challenge ever” to its security.