Asia Pacific's three great democracies are forging closer ties to push for better security in the region. Japan, Australia and the US strengthened their relationship at APEC with one of the most significant trilaterals of the meet.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan welcomed cooperation among Japan, Australia and the United States.
"We intend to steadily implement this action so that both Japan and Australia can contribute further to the peace and stability of the region," he said.
The three leaders met over a breakfast of fresh fruit and pastries at the InterContinental Hotel on Saturday.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the Trilateral Strategic Dialogue was further complemented with an Action Plan and a Joint Declaration with Japan.
He announced the Japan-Australia Action Plan at an APEC press conference on Sunday.
The plan would encourage cooperation on defense, law enforcement, counter-terrorism, counter proliferation, peace operations and information exchange between the two countries, he said.
The Joint Declaration was based around continuing talks on security cooperation between foreign and defense ministers - the first of which were held in Tokyo in June.
"Building on the historic collaboration of our defense forces in Iraq and our growing cooperation to address security challenges in our region and beyond, the Joint Declaration provides a valuable framework for expanding our strategic cooperation," Mr Howard said.
Japanese troups will soon be arriving in Australia to train for joint peacekeeping missions.
Japan has been refueling US and Pakistan ships in the Indian Ocean since 1998 - a counter-terrorist move to protect trade flowing through the region, a senior adviser for Prime Minister Abe told The Epoch Times.
Following World War II Japan introduced laws which forbade them from holding military operations outside their country, but have since modified the law to allow external operations.
Japan's Defense Agency was upgraded to a full ministry in January, and the government is busy implementing education guidelines to instill a sense of patriotism in the classroom. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to rewrite the Constitution and expand military operations with Japan's top ally, the United States.
Japan staged its first postwar military mission in a country at war in 2004 when it sent 600 non-combat troops to Iraq. The troops withdrew last year, but the government is eager to find another venue for a dispatch.
That law is up for review on November 1 - but opposition leaders are hoping the law will be dropped, and the law will not be extended.
The US, Japan, Australia, and Singapore held a military exercise off the east coast of India last week with India.
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