Recently, the high-profile RCEP agreement has finally been signed, which indicates that the vast geography including the Asia-Pacific region, ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand will become the world's largest free trade market, thereby promoting the Asia-Pacific region to become the main axis of global economic development. It can be said that in the United States, unilateralism has been widely promoted. The signing of this agreement has injected a strong shot into the global market economy and multilateralism, which is of great significance.
However, just two days after the signing of RCEP, another heavy news came from Japan and Australia. According to the Global Times, Australian Prime Minister Morrison visited Japan on the 17th of this month and held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. After the meeting, the two sides announced that the "great framework" of the "Reciprocal Access Agreement", a military agreement, was basically agreed. Reuters once commented on this that this agreement would further bind the two US allies in the Asia-Pacific region to counterbalance China.
is more interesting here. As the old saying goes, only violence can protect one's own interests. "Going the world with the sword" was not a big mistake, but now it is a bit unjust when it comes to Japan and Australia. Want to make money in the RCEP agreement, but also reluctant to leave the thigh of the United States. Eating the club’s meal and sleeping in the Xijia bed, Japan and Australia really played a good hand.
According to this agreement, Japan and Australia will determine the legal framework for mutual training visits and joint military exercises between the two countries’ military forces. It is worth mentioning that the negotiation of this agreement has gone through six years of long-distance race, and the agreement needs to be approved by the two parliaments before it can take effect. The sensitivity and difficulty are evident.
For Japan, the significance of this agreement seems to be more significant. When foreign media talked about it, they even compared it with the "Status of Garrison Agreement" signed by the United States and Japan 60 years ago. The agreement allows thousands of U.S. troops, warships, and fighters to enter Japan and is the core component of the U.S.-Japan alliance. section. Now that a similar agreement has been reached with Australia, this will undoubtedly allow Japan and Australia to establish closer military ties.
In fact, since 2013, Japan and Australia have begun to share military materials with each other. By 2017, the two sides began to share weapons and ammunition. At the beginning of this month, Japan and Australia also participated in the "Malabar 2020" joint military exercise led by the United States and India. The four countries have sent their main battleships to conduct military exercises on important waterways in the Indian Ocean. The targets and implications are not unclear. .
Although Japan and Australia tried to fight to death during World War II, under the mediation of the United States, these two countries are forming a military alliance step by step, and they have grown into the "left-hand man" of the United States, one north and one south, and the other side of the ocean. The United States echoes each other in a distance, and India comes out from time to time to make trouble, the United States' "mini NATO" has basically taken shape.
Japan and Australia are both economic and military. In addition to responding to the "grand policy" of the United States, it is also a signal to the United States. First of all, the 15 Asia-Pacific countries jointly signed the RCEP, the United States will inevitably have a sense of anxiety. Even the mainstream media in the United States has told the US authorities that "the world is not waiting for the United States." Appease the United States. Although I am following RCEP to make money, I am still loyal to the United States.
Secondly, eat dinner at the east house and sleep on the bed at the west house. In other words, it is "grass on the wall". It can be expected that for a long period of time, countries in the world will adopt such an attitude in the face of the game of big powers. Although this method is shameless, it is also the best way to protect yourself and at the same time get more bargaining chips. In the end, although the results of the US general election have come out, the overall situation has not yet been settled. Therefore, for allies, the best plan at present is to cooperate and watch out. The best result is that everything is back on track.
On the surface, Japan is very cold, but RCEP has already been signed. The two largest economies in East Asia have reached bilateral tax cuts for the first time. This situation is like having a quilt covered, but there is no communication in public. But there has never been a person in the world who refuses to make money for allies, everyone is the same.
