SYDNEY – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida signed a landmark security deal on Saturday, and committed to consult on future military threats as they continue efforts to jointly assert regional leadership to counter China’s growing clout.

At a summit in Perth in Western Australia, the two leaders also reached an agreement on critical minerals to ensure that Australia can supply Japan’s technology sector with resources in case supply chains are disrupted due to future risks, such as pandemics or regional conflicts.

The security deal, which updates an agreement from 2007, includes plans for troops to train together in northern Australia as well as for more multilateral exercises.

It will also involve greater intelligence sharing, use of each other’s military facilities, and a commitment by both countries to “consult each other on contingencies that may affect their sovereignty and regional security interests”.

Following the talks, Mr Kishida said he raised his plan to strengthen Japan’s military and develop a counterstrike capability – and noted that this has been supported by Mr Albanese.

“Japan and Australia – sharing fundamental values and strategic interest – have come under the increasingly harsh strategic environment,” he told reporters.

“We, once again, reaffirmed our agreement that Japan and Australia will service the core of like-minded countries’ collaboration in the Indo-Pacific.”

In recent years, Japan and Australia have developed stronger ties based on their shared regional outlooks. Both are close allies of the United States but both want to strengthen regional groupings that can help to ensure that they do not need to solely rely on Washington to counter an assertive Beijing.

Canberra and Tokyo have backed regional groupings such as the Quad – a security dialogue that includes India and the US – and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade bloc that includes Singapore.

In a sign of the growing ties between the two countries, the meeting on Saturday in Perth – an annual leaders’ summit – was the fourth between the two leaders since Mr Albanese’s ruling Labor Party was elected in May.

“We two countries really matter to each other now more than ever,” said Mr Albanese.

“Our commitment to consult each other on contingencies is a natural step in efforts to support the security and stability of the region.”

A previous security agreement in 2007 proposed improving cooperation on threats such as terrorism and North Korea’s weapons programme. The upgraded pact, which deepens the military and intelligence bonds, will not oblige them to come to each other’s defences but would involve them consulting on their potential responses to regional emergencies and threats.

“For Japan, this is a new way (of) thinking about security,” Dr Bryce Wakefield, executive director of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, told ABC News.

“It has been so heavily reliant on the US-Japan security alliance in the past, but it’s now leaning towards a more networked idea of security with key partners like Australia.”

The critical minerals deal aims to improve the energy security of the two countries and assist with efforts to tackle climate change. The deal will help to ensure Japan can access a reliable supply of Australian critical minerals such as rare earths that are used to produce batteries, wind turbines, electric vehicles and solar panels.

Mr Albanese said the agreement would ensure that neither Australia nor Japan is vulnerable to “future shocks”.

“Those shocks can represent many things,” he noted.

“It could be another pandemic, it can be cyber issues… tragically, it could be also issues relating to the strategic competition that we’re seeing in our region. So, we need to be vigilant.”

The summit was held in Western Australia, which is a major global supplier to Japan and others of iron ore, coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG). About 40 per cent of Japan’s LNG comes from Australia.

Mr Albanese said: “This (critical minerals) partnership will mean we build secure supply chains, promote investment… and make sure Japan’s advanced manufacturers have the critical minerals they need.”