Overview
- Defense ministers met in Tokyo to push a deeper industry partnership focused on joint work on long‑range missiles and uncrewed aircraft.
- Australia’s Richard Marles said only shared production and sustainment can deliver the munitions both forces need, citing strain on U.S. stocks from wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
- Japan’s Shinjiro Koizumi warned that focus on the Middle East must not leave a security gap in the Indo‑Pacific.
- A North Korean ballistic missile launch hours before the Tokyo talks underscored the risk picture that both governments say is speeding their plans.
- The effort is being formalized through a 2025 coordination framework, and reporting points to closer naval ties that could include an Australian frigate program based on Japan’s Mogami‑class design.