Tokyo and London struck a new defense deal today, allowing British and Japanese troops to be stationed in each other’s countries. The agreement is the latest sign of rapidly deepening ties between the UK and Japan. Mint Stakes explains:
On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) that will allow troops from the two countries to be stationed on each other’s territory.
This is the first such treaty that Japan has signed with any European country. Japan has also concluded RAA with Australia and India. RAAs facilitate defense exercises and deployments and are generally thought to improve military interoperability.
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The defense deal is the latest in a major year for ties between London and Tokyo. Earlier, Japan announced that it would jointly design and develop the sixth-generation fighter aircraft with Britain and Italy.
For Japan, this represents a significant step away from its traditional defense reliance on the US. For the UK, this represents another concrete step forward in its new “pivot” to the Indo-Pacific.
During a visit in 2021, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace acknowledged that bilateral defense ties were being raised to a new level. During his visit, the UK announced that it would permanently station two ships in the Indo-Pacific region.
Both sides are also cooperating in trade. Japan has played a key role in organizing the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive regional trade deal, after the US left the accord in 2017. The United Kingdom has submitted an application to be part of the CPTPP.
This growing closeness has led analysts to label the relationship a “quasi-alliance”. Japan and the UK have been allies before. -Focusing on rising threats such as Imperial Germany.
This time, both countries have their eyes firmly set on a rising China. Japan has been particularly concerned with Beijing’s threat in recent decades, while Britain has been a vocal supporter of a free and open rules-based order in the region.
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