Australia, Japan sign contracts to start $7 billio

Australia and Japan signed contracts on Saturday launching their landmark A$10 billion ($7 billion) deal to supply Australia with warships, Tokyo’s most consequential military sale since ending a military export ban in 2014. Defence Ministers Richard Marles and Shinjiro Koizumi signed a memorandum “reaffirming the Australian and Japanese governments’ shared commitment to the successful delivery” of the warships, Marles said in a statement. The deal struck in August anchors Japan’s push away from its postwar pacifism to forge security ties beyond its alliance with the U.S. to counter China. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is to supply the Royal Australian Navy with three upgraded Mogami-class multi-role frigates built in Japan from 2029. Eight more frigates will be built in Australia. Japan’s Defence Ministry posted on X that Koizumi and Marles welcomed the “conclusion of contracts for General Purpose Frigates, and confirmed to further strengthen bilateral defense ties”