TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday Japan and Australia had reached a broad agreement on their bilateral defense pact.
The pact called the Reciprocal Access Agreement is a legal framework to allow their troops to visit each other’s countries and conduct training and joint operations.
Suga made the comments during a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison who is visiting Tokyo.
The countries have been negotiating the defense deal for years to bolster their security ties as China increases its influence in the region. The agreement still needs to be ratified by lawmakers.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, writing by Ju-min Park; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
