Following the cancellation of a trip to the United States and Australia due to rising COVID-19 cases, Japan and Australia are set to sign a treaty to beef up defence and security cooperation at a virtual summit on Thursday.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison are set to sign a Reciprocal Access Agreement, which, for the first time, set out a framework by which the defence forces of both countries will cooperate with each other.

“This treaty will be a statement of our two nations’ commitment to work together in meeting the shared strategic security challenges we face and to contribute to a secure and stable Indo-Pacific,” said Morrison in a statement.

The framework expands on efforts by the United States, Japan, India and Australia to work on shared concerns on China in the Indo-Pacific region.

Japan and Australia also plan on discussing opportunities to strengthen government and business partnerships on critical technologies, minerals, and clean energy.

“Our cooperation also includes an expanding agenda for the Quad with India and the United States, and our shared technology-led approach to reducing carbon emissions,” said Morrison.

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