The most high-profile outcome was the announcement of an ‘in-principle agreement’ on a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) that’s yet to be signed. This will enable Australia and Japan to streamline the stationing of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in Japan and the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in Australia, to facilitate joint military exercises and disaster relief, and to bolster interoperability. It makes the RAA the second such agreement Japan has signed on top of its 1960 Status of Forces Agreement with the United States. The RAA would cement Australia as Japan’s second most important security partner after its alliance with the United States.
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