From Strategic Partnership to Strategic Alliance?: Australia-Japan Security Ties and the Asia-Pacific

Abstract

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis article examines developing security relationship between Australia and Japan and assesses implications for U.S. and region.MAIN ARGUMENTBased on series of unprecedented developments, Australia and Japan have greatly enhanced their direct bilateral security ties to forge what they now describe as partnership. This new form of security alignment is not intended to be traditional alliance pact, but rather represents novel and versatile mechanism for diplomatic, security, and cooperation. Both states seek to pragmatically advance their national interests in tandem and to multiply their capabilities to meet joint security challenges in Asia-Pacific. In this case, however, strength and significance of is further buttressed as consequence of their adjunct status as quasi-allies-through their independent defense pacts with U.S.-and their combined participation in Trilateral Strategic Dialogue.POLICY IMPLICATIONS* The rapid emergence and subsequent strengthening of Australia-Japan is one of most significant recent developments in regional security landscape, and especially within context of U.S. hub-and-spoke alliance system.* The is actually new form of security alignment whose nature, function, and dynamics are not well appreciated or understood. A robust debate is developing among community in Australia regarding desirability of deepening this security relationship and whether it portends treaty-based military alliance pact.* The impact of this on regional security environment is seemingly inconsistent. On one hand, this intra-allied cooperation appears to reinforce overall U.S. alliance system in Asia-Pacific. On other, it could represent nascent effort by key middle powers to hedge against breakdown of this system.In 2014, Prime Ministers Tony Abbott and Shinzo Abe held two groundbreaking summits in quick succession: The first took place in Tokyo in May, and second in Canberra in July. The two leaders addressed one another's national parliaments, and Abbott also spoke to Japan's new National Security Council. After concluding free trade (or economic agreement in Japanese nomenclature) at first summit, and committing to defense technology cooperation at second, Abbott and Abe went on to announce that a new special relationship has been born.1Above all, these bilateral summit meetings were occasions to cement Australia and Japan's rapidly deepening strategic partnership. The was institutionalized through Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation (JDSC), signed in 2007, and subsequently consolidated through an acquisition and cross-servicing (ACSA) in 2010 and an information security (ISA) in 2012. In tandem with these formalized annual leadership summits, two partners have also been holding 2+2 foreign and defense ministers' meetings for almost decade. Notably, there was much mutual approbation on display during 2014 meetings, including obvious chemistry between conservative leaders Abbott and Abe, who have repeatedly characterized their countries as best friends and even strong allies.2 From this rhetoric, Clint Richards observed that the two countries might be drifting toward more formal alliance.3 Certainly this prospect has sparked an energetic debate among commentators in Australia, which will be discussed in this article. But can current Australia-Japan genuinely be considered an alliance, and if not, is it likely to develop as one in future?This article is organized into four sections as follows:~ pp. 84-88 address problematic definitional dilemmas surrounding terms strategic partnership and alliance. …