IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The defense ministers of Australia, Japan and the United States affirm their countries’ alignment in strategic interests and universal principles, including a commitment to democracy, human rights, free trade, and the rules-based international order. Together, the three countries recognize the importance of enhancing engagement with our Indo-Pacific partners, in order to foster regional prosperity, resilience and transparency in a time of geostrategic change. The trilateral relationship complements the strong and effective bilateral defense relationships between each of the three countries, and enables us to pool our resources in support of peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. The three defense ministers are committed to advancing trilateral cooperation, enhancing engagement with like minded partners in the region, and reinforcing the rules-based global order through actively supporting key regional security and defense architectures. This Strategic Action Agenda articulates our vision for trilateral activities, and our strong commitment to work both trilaterally and together with our regional partners. To that end, Australia, Japan and the United States intend to pursue the following lines of effort:
- Strengthen trilateral cooperation in the areas of maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping, counter-terrorism, amphibious activities, and non-conventional domains like space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum.
- In close collaboration with regional partners, identify and coordinate opportunities to build partner capacity through regular information sharing, complementary programs and cooperative activities.
- Increase the complexity and sophistication of trilateral exercises to enhance interoperability, build common understanding, and better enable our defence forces to work together to contribute to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.
- Promote transparency, regional cooperation and the rule of law through port visits and other defense-related activities that demonstrate every nation’s right to freedom of navigation and overflight, in accordance with international law.
- Improve common understanding and shared regional situational awareness through enhanced trilateral information sharing.
The three defense ministers commit to identifying new opportunities to further trilateral cooperation, with the objectives of maintaining and promoting a free, open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.
