Reciprocal Access Agreement between Australia and Japan
The rising tension in the South China Sea and China's assertiveness in the region have made the region an important theatre in International politics. China's expansionist policies have brought 'like-minded' countries in the region together. One such prominent grouping is the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or the Quad which comprises the four democracies the United States of America, Australia, India, and Japan. China's aggressiveness in the region has made it the center of geopolitical debates in the world. In the recent developments in the region, Japan and Australia signed a landmark deal to strengthen the defense ties between both the countries. In the backdrop of the rising belligerence of China in the South China Sea and Indo-Pacific region, Japan and Australia on 17th November, 2020 signed the long-pending Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) or the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) which aims to intensify military cooperation and counter china's rise in the region.
The agreement shows the readiness of both countries to diversify their security nexus beyond the USA and take a prominent role in fostering stability in the region. There is an overlapping interest in maritime security in the region. The strategic relationship between Japan and Australia goes back to when they signed the defense cooperation treaty back in 2007. It took almost 6 years to come to an agreement regarding the current arrangement. One of the major contentions was the issue related to the death penalty awarded if Australian troops are convicted of serious crime in Japan. Both the countries have agreed to look into the matter on a case by case basis. The in-principle agreement took place when Australia's Prime Minister John Morrison and his Japanese counterpart Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga met in Tokyo last month. Japan has only signed a similar agreement with the United States of America known as the Status Forces Agreement (SFOA) which allowed the American forces to be placed on the Japanese soil in 1960. The current RAA is somewhat different from SFOA which only allowed the US forces to come to Japanese soil. RAA is about reciprocity which is aimed at providing a legal framework to the forces of both the countries to operate on each other’s soil. It provides an opportunity for the forces to train better, increases interoperability and military cooperation resulting in better coordination towards countering the influence of China in the region. The increasing attempts of countries to improve cooperation and the increasing number of military exercises, diplomatic and strategic dialogues, logistical and technical agreements that share the convergence of interest are signs of greater demand for cohesion among countries in the region considering the rising adventurism of China in the region. In the joint statement released by both the countries, the importance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and South China Sea was highlighted indicating their intention to take a proactive role in the region. RAA has served as a direct response to China's rising influence in the region and can help in bolstering the Quad network. China's communist party-backed news agency called it a puppet show orchestrated by the master of the puppets the United States. Many believe this reaction shows China's discomfort with coming together of these democracies that can potentially challenge its rise and call out its actions in the region.
Japan and China have their all-time historical differences but it's interesting to observe how Australia is going to balance its economic and security interests in the region. China is the largest trading partner of Australia but currently, the bilateral relation of Canberra and Beijing has hit an all-time low since Australia called for an independent investigation of the origin of the Coronavirus and China reacted by retaliating economically by putting sanctions on Australia.
While the Quad offers a crucial security architecture in the Indo- Pacific, bilateral agreements such as RAA can help buttress cooperation among the countries in the quad network. If we look at the architecture of Quad, we see there already exists an alliance between the US and Japan and the US and Australia and all three countries share some sort of strategic partnership with India, and although India doesn't have any alliance with any one of the quad members, it has actively been involved in fostering bilateral and trilateral agreements with the member countries. Intra-quad co-operation has increased in the last few years. The bilateral and trilateral agreements within the Quad network have given rise to 'minilateralism' in the region. Trilaterally the most advanced grouping is that of USA-Japan- Australia, at the same time US-India-Japan also has a ministerial-level dialogue mechanism, Japan-Australia-India level talks have also been initiated. Japan was included as a permanent member in the Malabar exercise in 2015, and this year Australia also participated in the Malabar exercises which were held just a few days back before the signing of RAA between Japan and Australia. The presence of Australia in the naval exercises have proved to be a strategic signal to China and now the current agreement. Such agreement even though bilateral have always helped in strengthening the quad architecture the current RAA between Australia and Japan not only strengthen their own bilateral relations but also help to project a strong footing against the rising assertiveness of China in the region. At the same time, it also promotes the idea of free and open Indo-pacific and bolsters the ability of the USA, India, Japan, and Australia to work in concert in order to uphold peace and stability in the region. The recent move has shown the greater commitment of both the countries which somewhere India has lacked. Even though India has come a long way, its aversion to making alliances will always hold back the Quad from reaching its full potential. The first-hand experience of Chinese aggression in the region brings India to the forefront of the Quad arrangement. It is all the more important for India to take the next step and be proactive in strengthening ties with all the member countries. RAA can prove to a step in the direction to set a precedent in order to attract more such arrangements in the future.
No single mechanism can be considered solely capable of managing the current situation in the region. So, the states should look at the possibility of using multiple mechanisms to deal with the situation. Thus, the states in the region are opting for multiple options and while Japan and Australia are part of the Quad framework, they are also strengthening their individual bilateral ties to address their common areas of security convergence. This current pact will prove to be critical because the Japanese self-defense forces has now been allowed to look at regional security with partner countries to forge common ground on issues of regional stability and security. The scope of any bilateral or trilateral agreement is going to complement the quad. The intra-quad approaches have been providing different opportunities to the countries to experiment with new arrangements in order to mitigate the assertive rise of China. The RAA can prove to have abundant strategic imperatives and a necessary step in the direction of strengthening security cooperation and grant legitimacy to a grouping like that of Quad in the region to promote growth and stability in the region.
End Notes
[1] Defining the Diamond: The Past, Present, and Future of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue-CSIS Briefs, March 16, 2020https://www.csis.org/analysis/defining-diamond-past-present-and-future-quadrilateral-security-dialogue
[2] Institutionalisation of the Quad- Observer Research Foundation, 15th October 2020https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/institutionalisation-quad/
[3] The real significance of the Quad- The Strategist, 24 Oct 2018, https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-real-significance-of-the-quad/
[4] Australia and Japan agree in principle to defence pact that will increase military ties- The Guardian, 17th November 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/17/australia-and-japan-agree-in-principle-to-defence-pact-that-will-increase-military-ties
[5] Slowly Blazing the Trail with the Australia-Japan Reciprocal Access Agreement- The Diplomat, 10th April 2019, https://thediplomat.com/2019/04/slowly-blazing-the-trail-with-the-australia-japan-reciprocal-access-agreement/
[6] Australia-Japan pact is about US-Financial Review, 22nd November 2020, https://www.afr.com/world/asia/australia-japan-pact-is-about-us-20201122-p56gta
[7] Australia-Japan pact heightens China's 'regional NATO' fear-Asia Times, 23rd November 2020, https://asiatimes.com/2020/11/australia-japan-pact-heightens-chinas-regional-nato-fear/
[8] Japan, Australia sign landmark defence deal to counter China's influence in South China Sea- Jagran Josh, 18th November 2020, https://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/reciprocal-access-agreement-japan-australia-sign-landmark-defence-deal-to-counter-chinas-influence-in-south-china-sea-1605679943-1
[9] Australia-Japan bilateral relationship, https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/japan/Pages/australia-japan-bilateral-relationship
[10] U.S. Navy commander in Asia welcomes Japan-Australia military pact- Japan Times, 19th November 2020, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/11/19/national/u-s-navy-commander-japan-australia-military-pact/
Pic Courtesy-The New Daily, Australia at thenewdaily.com.au(Picture used only for representational purposes)
(The views expressed are personal.)
