Latest news with #securityties
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Top Japanese official visits Australia as bid to build new frigate heats up
A top adviser to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has visited Australia for discussions on deepening security ties, as Japan looks to win a government contract to replace the quasi-ally's aging frigates. Akihisa Nagashima, special adviser to Ishiba, visited the cities of Canberra and Perth from Tuesday through Saturday, meeting with officials from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the prime minister's office, as well as the country's director-general of national intelligence, according to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo. The visit was also seen as another move by Japan to up its game in the race for the multibillion-dollar Australian frigate contract. Japan, together with Germany, are the finalists in the bid to jointly develop the new frigates with Australia. Canberra is expected to make a final decision on the matter by the end of the year. Nagashima said in a post Sunday to his X social media account that he had held discussions in Canberra 'with key members of the Australian government on deepening the Japan-Australia 'quasi-alliance' for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific,' adding that he had also traveled to Perth 'to give a final push for the Mogami-class multipurpose frigate joint production project.' Japan is pitching an as-of-yet unfielded upgraded version of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Mogami-class frigates, which are operated by the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF). The top adviser to the prime minister also said he had held informal talks with representatives from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Canberra office, discussing defense-industrial cooperation between the two countries, while later visiting Perth's Henderson shipyard, where some of the new Australian frigates are expected to be built. If won, the contract would be the largest military export deal in Japan's postwar history, offering a major breakthrough for the country's defense industry. Akihisa Nagashima, special adviser to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, speaks during an interview in Tokyo in December. | BLOOMBERG Under the project — which has a budget of between 7 billion and 11 billion Australian dollars ($4.3 billion to $6.8 billion) over the next decade — Canberra is seeking seven to 11 general-purpose frigates optimized for undersea warfare to replace its Anzac-class warships. Japan has pulled out all the stops to win the contract, sending one of its Mogami-class vessels to Australia earlier this year for joint military exercises and making a port call earlier this month with another Mogami ship to the city of Darwin, where the MSDF hosted a reception for Royal Australian Navy officials on board the ship. Experts, however, say that German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems has significantly increased its chances in the frigate competition by partnering with Saab — an entrenched supplier of crucial equipment for Australian warships — late last month. The German firm signed up Saab to 'explore opportunities for collaboration on the MEKO A-200, with a focus on enhancing naval capabilities through joint innovation and integration,' it said in a statement. Together with the Mogami-class vessel, Australia has also shortlisted Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems' MEKO A-200 design. 'This challenges widespread assumptions that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is the favorite,' analysts from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute wrote in an analysis earlier this month. 'A German victory, if it occurs, will be a serious blow to what has been a revitalised security relationship between Australia and Japan.'
Japan Times
15-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
South Korea's Lee open to trilateral meet with Ishiba and Trump at G7
New South Korean President Lee Jae-myung expressed an openness Sunday to holding a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada later this week. Any talks would be the first trilateral meeting for all three leaders since taking office, and would symbolize a commitment to continuing a trend of building closer security ties under their predecessors. 'President Lee has repeatedly said that the foundation of our diplomacy and security is the solid South Korea-U.S. alliance and the South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperative relationship,' the Yonhap news agency quoted a Presidential Office official as saying. Lee was due to depart on Monday for the G7 summit for an expanded session, as well as bilateral talks that could include a one-on-one meeting with Ishiba, who was set to leave for Canada later Sunday. The summit, which runs through Tuesday, will be the first G7 meeting for both Ishiba and Lee, who took office June 4 after winning South Korea's presidential election following the ouster of his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, over his short-lived martial law declaration in December. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington in February. | REUTERS Lee, who had been known for a seemingly hard-line stance toward Japan, told Ishiba over the phone last week that his government would continue Yoon's policy of strengthening bilateral and trilateral cooperation with Japan amid concerns in Tokyo that he might reverse agreements reached under his ousted predecessor that led to a thaw in ties. Ishiba and Lee — who are both grappling with onerous unilateral U.S. tariffs that could upend their economies — are also expected to hold bilateral talks with Trump. Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, spoke with his U.S. counterparts on Friday and Saturday in talks that explored the possibility of a trade deal — one that Tokyo hopes to seal at the G7, though it's unclear if negotiations are far enough along. Akazawa has said he may join Ishiba in Canada. The U.S. has slapped a 25% tariff on imported cars and auto parts and a 50% levy on steel and aluminum. A 10% across-the-board duty on other goods from Japan will rise to 24% on July 9 if a deal is not made. South Korea, meanwhile, is also facing similar tariffs, as well as security-related issues. Trump has demanded it to pay more for the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed there.
