Defence pact in focus as Australian PM visits Japan

TOKYO, (Reuters) Australian Prime Minister John Howard flies to Tokyo on Sunday for a visit during which he is to sign a ground-breaking joint security declaration with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Japan is the biggest buyer of Australian exports, and the two countries start talks next month on a free trade deal, but the focus this week is on defence ties with Tokyo, which has relied on the United States for its protection since World War Two.

"Japan has enjoyed a long, strong relationship with Australia in the economic area," a Japanese government official said this week. "Compared to that, the cooperation in the political-security field is relatively young."

Australian troops helped defend the Japanese non-combat personnel who were sent to southern Iraq to help with reconstruction activities. The two governments have also kept in close touch on regional problems such as North Korea and non-proliferation initiatives.

"In order for Japan and Australia to strengthen this cooperative relationship further, we thought we needed a framework," the Japanese official said.

Details of the new pact have not been released ahead of time, but Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, keen to dispel any lingering fears from World War Two, said last month he expected it to focus less on "aggressive-type military actions" and more on disaster relief and counter-terrorism.

It is likely that Asia's rapidly changing balance of power is what sparked the arrangement, analysts say. "We are no longer in an age when either Japan or Australia can rely solely on the United States as an ally," said military analyst Tetsuya Ozeki, who says both China and Russia are set to become equally influential in the region.

Downer, in an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun published on Saturday, said the two countries would agree to hold regular meetings among their defence and foreign ministers, and also to cooperate in dealing with the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by North Korea.