Global Courant 2023-05-18 07:02:01
Tokyo is trying to strengthen its alliances amid heightened tensions in Asia and the Pacific over North Korea and Taiwan.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will sign a new agreement to deepen security ties, including a commitment from the UK to send an aircraft carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific by 2025.
The so-called “Hiroshima Agreement” will also cover trade and investment, science and technology cooperation and joint initiatives to tackle global problems such as climate change, according to a statement from Sunak’s office released ahead of the signing in Hiroshima on Thursday.
“With the Hiroshima Accord, we will intensify cooperation between our armed forces, grow our economies together and develop our world-leading scientific and technological expertise,” Sunak said. “It marks an exciting next phase in the UK’s thriving partnership with Japan.”
Under the agreement, the United Kingdom will deploy its Carrier Strike Group to the Indo-Pacific by 2025 and double the number of troops in upcoming joint military exercises.
The two countries will also agree on a formal “consultation clause”, whereby the UK and Japan commit to consult each other on key regional and global security issues and consider action in response.
London and Tokyo are deepening ties amid heightened tensions in Asia-Pacific over North Korea’s advancing weapons program and China’s increasingly assertive stance on issues such as Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea, which it claims almost entirely.
In January, Japan announced plans to strengthen security ties with the United States amid concerns over China, which the two countries said posed an “unprecedented” threat to international order. Japan is also part of the Quad security alliance with Australia, India and the US.
Japan and the UK will host the joint Vigilant Isles military exercises in Japan later this year. It is the fourth time the exercises have been held and around 170 British personnel will take part, including from 1 Royal Gurkha Rifles and 16 Air Assault Brigade.
The British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and its fleet of Royal Navy ships made their maiden voyage to the region in 2021, passing through India, Singapore and the South China Sea to South Korea and Japan.
By 2025, the fleet is expected to work with Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and other regional partners “to help defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” the statement said.
The new agreement also includes science and technology programs to support university-industry collaboration between the UK and Japan, the rapid development of green technologies and a semiconductor partnership.
Sunak will arrive in Tokyo on Thursday and will meet key Japanese business leaders in Tokyo.
The United Kingdom has been trying to deepen relations with countries outside Europe after leaving the European Union, the world’s largest internal market.
(TagsToTranslate)Economy
