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Japan and Australia signed a groundbreaking defence pact on Tuesday that the leaders of both countries stressed was not aimed at reining in China, but the road ahead for a two-way trade deal looked rougher.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister John Howard signed off on the agreement, Japan's first such pact with a country other than the United States, after talks in Tokyo. "The signing of the joint declaration on security and co-operation is a further milestone in the march of a relationship that really began in earnest 50 years ago," Howard told a joint news conference.
Stressing the agreement did not diminish ties of either country with the 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. China should not see this declaration in an antagonistic light." Some Australians still have bitter feelings about Japan because of World War Two. "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.
A Japanese official said later that Howard had raised the issue of Abe's recent comments denying the Japanese government directly forced women to become wartime sex slaves for Japanese soldiers, but said the Australian leader had welcomed Abe's lastest remarks expressing sympathy for the women and standing by a 1993 apology for their suffering.
Japan has in recent years pushed the limits of its US-drafted pacifist constitution, and Abe wants to rewrite the document to clarify the legal status of its military and facilitate a bigger global security role.
The four-part defence agreement sets priorities for security co-operation in such areas as counter-terrorism, maritime security, border protection and disaster relief. It also sets out shared regional concerns.
The agreement comes after North Korea shook the region with nuclear and missile tests last year and China shot down one of its own satellites in January, sparking increased concern over Beijing's rising military might. Abe, who earlier said the deal was not aimed at reining in China, stressed it would help stabilise the Asia-Pacific region.
"The strengthening of our relations, particularly in the field of security, will contribute to stability and security not only for Japan and Australia but also for the region and the world," Abe told the news conference.
China on Tuesday reiterated that it did not pose a threat to the region and said more should be done to boost trust in Asia. "We hope what they've said is true," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a news conference, referring to Japanese and Australian assurances.
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.

Copyright Reuters, 2007

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