By Keita Nakamura,
Japan and Britain on Thursday committed to strengthening their partnership in areas ranging from security and trade to technology, expressing resolve to defend the liberal international order amid Russia's war in Ukraine and China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.
The "Hiroshima Accord," named after the city where Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak met ahead of the Group of Seven summit, also stipulated the future deployment of a British carrier group to the Indo-Pacific region, which London says will take place in 2025.
The strengthening of what the two countries call a global strategic partnership comes as Britain has been stepping up its engagement in the Indo-Pacific region in recent years, partly propelled by Beijing's actions undermining democracy and human rights in Hong Kong, a former British colony.
Britain dispatched the Royal Navy aircraft carrier the Queen Elizabeth to Japan in 2021 and is set to join a regional free trade deal originally known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which includes Japan and Australia among its members.
In the accord, the two governments shared "serious concerns" over the situation in the East and South China seas, where Beijing has been stepping up territorial claims, including over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands.
They also called on China to behave responsibly as a member of the international community and expressed strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force, apparently with Taiwan in mind. Beijing views the self-ruled island as its own territory.
"We are determined to strengthen the free and open international order based on the rule of law," the two countries said, noting how they are connected by their "shared values of freedom, democracy, rule of law, fundamental human rights, and open and fair trade."
Citing a bilateral defense cooperation agreement aimed at facilitating joint military drills, the two countries said they will work to increase interoperability between the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the British Armed Forces.
The two countries will enhance bilateral activities to a "higher level," the accord said, touching on the possibility of the SDF providing protection for foreign military assets.
Kishida and Sunak also agreed that their two countries will work together to enhance their economic security by working on supply chain resilience and address forced technology transfers and intellectual property theft, apparently referring to what they see as Beijing's unfair trade practices.
They also said they will seek to maintain "strategic advantage" including in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, while increasing cooperation in the semiconductor sector.
Ahead of their talks, Sunak pleased Kishida by showing off the red socks he was wearing that featured the logo of the Hiroshima Carp, the
professional baseball club based in the city. Kishida represents a district of Hiroshima and roots for the team.
"I hope your baseball team have had a better season than my football team who have had a very bad season," Sunak said, apparently referring to his hometown's Southampton FC, which was relegated from the Premier League for the first time since the 2011-2012 season.
Earlier Thursday, Sunak boarded the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's largest destroyer, the Izumo, at the MSDF base in Yokosuka, near Tokyo. The ship is undergoing an upgrade to become a de facto aircraft carrier.
Sunak told reporters that Japan-Britain cooperation "will make a real difference to security and stability" in Indo-Pacific.
Japan and Britain signed in January the Reciprocal Access Agreement, which sets rules on the transportation of weapons during joint exercises or disaster relief operations in each other's countries. In December, the two countries as well as Italy announced they would jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet by 2035.
Earlier Thursday, Kishida held a separate meeting in Hiroshima with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. They confirmed they will keep working closely on issues related to China and North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs, according to the Japanese government.
