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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles met with his Japanese and American counterparts at a Trilateral Defense Ministerial Meeting during the recent 2022 Shangri-La Dialogue.
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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles met with his counterparts, Japanese Minister of Defense Kishi Nobuo and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III for a Trilateral Defense Meeting at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue.
The meeting, held during the 19th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Asia Security Summit, was the 10th meeting between defence representatives from all three nations.
Throughout the discussion, the Defence leaders reaffirmed their continued support for the rules-based order and the UN Charter, rebuking Russia’s violation of international law through the invasion of Ukraine. The three called on Russia to comply with the International Court of Justice’s legal order issued on 16 March.
The meeting further opposed any actions that destabilise the security environment in the East China Sea and reiterated their support for activities in the South China Sea that are consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The leaders confirmed their ongoing support for the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal decision.
In particular, the ministers condemned North Korea’s ongoing ballistic missile and illegal nuclear warhead testing, maintaining their support for the United Nations Security Council Resolutions calling for the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
The representatives also reaffirmed their commitment to building regional security and governance architectures in the Indo-Pacific, including the Pacific Islands Forum, the South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and Japan Pacific Islands Defense Dialogue (JPIDD).
According to a Joint Vision Statement released following the Trilateral Defense Ministerial Meeting, the ministers agreed to:
- Bolster interoperability and readiness through trilateral exercises.
- Enhance the Asset Protection Mission for the Australian Defence Force by the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
- Augment training via the Japan-Australia Reciprocal Access Agreement.
- Promote disaster relief coordination.
- Develop greater research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) frameworks for greater trilateral cooperation.
- Enhance technological cooperation.
- Build relationships with likeminded partners across the globe to support respect for international norms.
[Related: New defence minister named]
