Richard Marles says Japan could send marines to Darwin in the future

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Japan could deploy marines in Australia in the future under a new plan being contemplated by Tokyo and Canberra. The idea has been discussed during a joint meeting between Defence and Foreign Ministers from both countries in regional Victoria.

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00:00Look, the sense you get, Joe, is that this idea is in its early stages, but exactly how

00:07early is difficult to say.

00:10What is interesting, though, is that this is being contemplated.

00:12Now it's worth remembering the broader context here.

00:15US Marines have been rotating through Darwin since 2012.

00:19You've got normally up to 2,500 Marines who essentially have a few months there in Darwin

00:25during the dry season, where they undergo training, exercises and basically spend an

00:30awful lot of time with their Australian counterparts.

00:33Now that is an important development.

00:35The fact that Japan is now contemplating joining in and now exactly how many troops might be

00:41sent is difficult to say, but the fact that it's on the agenda at all has symbolic as

00:46well as strategic weight.

00:48Now the Defence Minister Richard Marles was the one who revealed that this was being contemplated.

00:53Let's take a listen to how he described the plan, speaking earlier today in Queenscliff

00:59in regional Victoria.

01:01We of course host a rotation of the United States Marine through the dry season in the

01:09Northern Territory each year.

01:12And we have agreed to explore ways in which the Japanese Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade

01:21can participate in the US Marine rotations which occur in Darwin every year.

01:29This is a really huge opportunity for our three defence forces to operate in an amphibious

01:37context, noting that coming out of the Defence Strategic Review and the National Defence

01:41Strategy is a desire for us to have our army become more amphibious in its operations.

01:49So Stephen, how rapidly have Australia and Japan built up security ties in recent years?

01:55Look really rapidly is the short answer Joe.

01:57Tokyo and Canberra have found common cause.

02:00They share a real unease about the shifting power balance and the fact that China is engaged

02:05in a massive military build up with very little transparency.

02:09They share anxieties about China's language towards Taiwan, its ramping up of military

02:14exercises across the Taiwan Strait.

02:16They share anxieties about its behaviour, not just in the South China Sea where we've

02:20seen confrontations between the Chinese and Philippines Coast Guard, but also in the East

02:25China Sea.

02:26There are disputed territories as well between Japan and China.

02:29And only a few days ago we actually saw two separate incursions by a Chinese plane and

02:34boat simultaneously or separately into Japanese territory.

02:39Now all of this is understandably making Tokyo nervous.

02:42As a result, it's deepening strategic and defence ties, not just with the US, but with

02:47Australia as well.

02:49And so you're now seeing a pattern of really clear activity.

02:52You've got Japanese fighter jets being sent to Australia and vice versa to take part in

02:56joint exercises.

02:57You've got both countries deepening and expanding their military cooperation through multilateral

03:03as well as bilateral exercises.

03:05And more broadly, you've just got an awful lot more strategic trust between Tokyo and

03:10Canberra as the two countries really build up that defence infrastructure.

03:14Now this is, of course, not a trend that's going to slow down.

03:18In fact, it's likely to speed up, particularly as China's military might swells.

03:22And I think if we continue to see increasingly assertive or belligerent behaviour from China,

03:28then increasingly Tokyo and Canberra are going to look not just to one another, but also

03:33notwithstanding the spectre of a return of Donald Trump, to America as well for security.

03:39And Steven, it's unusual a meeting like this, a high-level international meeting, would

03:43be held in a regional area.

03:44Can you give us any insight as to why it was held in regional Victoria?

03:48Richard Myles' seat is that way, is it?

03:50Yeah, a couple of reasons, I'd say, Joe.

03:52The first is that it's not far from Geelong, and that's Richard Myles' home base.

03:56But it's also being held not far from a very sensitive military facility, Swan Island,

04:02which Australia has had for quite some time.

04:05I think there's a bit of symbolism there too.

04:07The fact that Japan and Australia are sitting down in such close proximity to a pretty sensitive

04:13military facility is another sign that they want to basically broadcast this strategic

04:19trust between Tokyo and Canberra.

04:22I think that's behind the location.

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