Asia’s rapidly evolving security environment will be assessed when Griffith University’s Asia Institute host the fourth annual Australia-Japan Dialogue today(Nov 28).
Experts will also address where Australia-Japan relations fit within this context at the workshop in Tokyo.
The 2014 Australia-Japan Dialogue is supported by the Australia-Japan Foundation and builds on previous Dialogue meetings held in Brisbane and Tokyo on disaster management and energy security.
Dialogue convenor, Associate Professor Michael Heazle, says the Australia-Japan relationship is one of the most important bilateral partnerships for both countries.
“Asia’s security environment is undergoing fundamental change as the regional distribution of power continues to shift with China’s growing economic and military capabilities,” Associate Professor Heazle said..
“The workshop aims to promote the dissemination of Australian and Japanese perspectives on Asian security landscape that is evolving rapidly.”
The workshop will also help to reassert networks between Australian and Japanese experts across academia, think tanks and government, and includes specialists drawn from Japan’s National Defense Academy, the National Institute for Defense Studies, Griffith University and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
“Every government in the region has to adapt to the region’s more fluid security landscape and Japan is no exception,” Associate Professor Heazle said.
“The Abe government’s reforms to Japan’s traditional security approach are not surprising given Japan’s ongoing tensions with both China and North Korea. Seen in the context of the bilateral relationship with Australia, these reforms present challenges but they also present great opportunities.”
An outcomes paper will result from the forum that captures key points of discussions, as well as workshop papers being submitted for publication in a special journal issue.
