Japan, U.S., Australia to hold 1st 3-way defense ministerial talks

SINGAPORE, June 2 Kyodo

Japan, the United States and Australia will hold their first trilateral defense ministerial talks later Saturday in Singapore to reaffirm security cooperation and enhance defense exchanges in the wake of North Korean threats and China's growing military power.

Japanese Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson will get together on the sidelines of the Asia Security Conference being organized by a London-based think tank, Japanese officials said.

The new framework complements the three countries' foreign ministerial strategic dialogue launched in March 2006 to address concerns over North Korea's nuclear development programs and missile launches as well as steady increases in China's military spending.

Kyuma, Gates and Nelson are expected to discuss ways to deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile issues and trade views on the missile defense system being developed and put into operation jointly by the Japanese and U.S. governments.

Australia has expressed interest in the Japan-U.S. missile defense scheme as part of its future defense plans, and has been expected to exchange opinions on the scheme and its problems at the trilateral talks.

But it may refrain from holding detailed discussions on the issue so as to avoid provoking China, one of its major trade partners, pundits say.

Saturday's trilateral defense talks are in line with the ideas of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who, with China in mind, has set out a policy aimed at strengthening coordination with the United States, Australia and India.

In its Quadrennial Defense Review Report issued in February 2006, the United States described China as having ''the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States'' among major and emerging powers, and emphasized the importance of maintaining the U.S. alliance with Japan, South Korea and Australia.

Despite the possible setbacks, Japan and Australia are thought to be intending to find a comfortable cooperative trilateral relationship, with the United States at the core.

In their joint declaration in March, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister John Howard agreed to expand strategic cooperation in security and defense issues, including coordinating policies over counterterrorism and increasing joint training for U.N. peacekeeping operations.

Kyuma told a press conference Friday morning in Tokyo he hopes to hold strategic dialogue with Gates and Nelson on various issues, such as regional security, defense exchanges and cooperation in times of natural disasters.

In addition to the talks in Singapore, Kyuma and Nelson are scheduled to meet bilaterally in Tokyo next Tuesday, and they will be joined by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer the following day for the first ''two-plus-two'' ministerial security meeting between their nations.

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