Japan, Australia sign landmark defense pact

Japan and Australia signed a "milestone" defense pact yesterday, prompting China to ask them to take into consideration the concerns and interests of their neighbors.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard signed the agreement on strengthened security cooperation in Tokyo Japan's first such pact with a country other than the United States.

"We hope they will take steps that are conducive to enhancing mutual trust among the countries in the region and promoting regional peace and security," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.

In response to the assurance that the security pact does not target China, Qin said he hoped the Japanese and Australian leaders are true to their word.

He reiterated China's position on seeking development on peaceful terms, saying the country pursued a defensive national defense policy.

Howard hailed the signing of the joint declaration on security as a "milestone" in bilateral ties.

Stressing the agreement was not targeted at China or designed to diminish either country's ties with their key security ally, the United States, Howard said: "It should not be seen as being antagonistic to anybody in the region. It certainly is not."

The deal between Australia and Japan comes despite the bitter feelings many Australians harbor about Japan since the end of World War II.

"We all have an obligation to recall the past but also to look to the future ... That is the spirit I have brought to the relationship of Japan and Australia," Howard said.

The four-part agreement sets priorities for security cooperation in such areas as counter-terrorism, maritime security, border protection and disaster relief. It also sets out shared regional concerns.

Australia has said the pact may lead to intelligence sharing and the participation of Japanese troops in exercises on Australian soil, although both countries have pointed out that it will not be a mutual defence treaty like the one Tokyo has with Washington.

As the US' most loyal allies in the Asia-Pacific, both countries sent troops to Iraq. Japan withdrew its ground forces last year, but left air force personnel based in Kuwait who transport supplies to the US-led coalition.