The JSDF need opportunities for realistic training to better professionalize itself. And both benefit from the psychological and political ties that come from deeper military-to-military relations. Bringing the Australian army and navy to exercise in Japan is also easy.īesides the favorable optics of the JSDF and ADF operating together, Japan benefits from deeper exposure to another military and different ways of doing things. The right officers, doing some pushing and persuading – and with some help from the US Marines and US Navy – can move the Australia-Japan defense relationship forward on a far broader front than just army to army.Īnd when the Americans and Japanese finally establish a joint headquarters in Japan (hopefully before hell has frozen over), the Australians should be an integral part of it.Īnother helpful initiative would be sending an RAAF squadron to Japan on long-term deployment and, vice versa, a Japan Air Self-Defense Force squadron to Australia. It will be better to see an Australian liaison officer or two assigned to the Japan Self-Defense Forces headquarters in Tokyo. Photo: WikiCommons / US Air Force / Tech Sergeant Jason RobertsonĪn Australian Army liaison officer is now assigned to the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force’s Ground Combat Command in Japan. US Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force and Royal Australian Air Force aircraft fly in formation during an exercise at Cope North in 2015, off the coast of Guam. There are some easy things to start moving forward with. Now that the deal has been signed, the important thing is what both sides make of it. Chinese threats, pressure and saber-rattling do indeed have a silver lining. And Royal Australian Air Force aircraft have used US bases in Japan (under United Nations auspices) in recent years while enforcing North Korea sanctions.Īnd in September 2019, a detachment of Australian F-18s conducted the first joint combat exercise with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in Japan.Ī decade ago, most observers considered a Japan-Australia RAA and all the above activities to be impossible. Individual Australian Defence Force personnel have been assigned to Japan for decades. Japanese ships have also exercised alongside the Royal Australian Navy in the Indian Ocean Malabar Exercise and in the South China Sea. Japanese forces have been training in Australia since the early 2010s, which included sending ships and troops to Talisman Sabre and other exercises. One should remember, however, that the Japanese and Australian militaries are not strangers. The door is now open wide in both directions for practically any initiative the two sides desire.
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