The scope, pace and intent of recent agreement suggest an intent to circumvent Beijing.
As Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe undertakes a trip through Oceania, defense and energy ties are expected to feature prominently. Abe left on Sunday and will visit with key partners New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG). While news from his meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key shows this leg of his journey may prove uneventful, Abe is expected to sign significant deals while in Australia. The recent and significant uptick in ties between Japan and Australia since the details of their free trade agreement were agreed in April has underlined their shared interests, of which their security ties China have become particularly sensitive. Japan, Australia and PNG all share an interest in establishing economic ties beyond the reach of China’s envisioned “second island chain” of influence reaching out into the Western Pacific. Building trade ties and security arrangements that avoid the increasingly troubled South China Sea are a logical next step.
Abe’s stopover in New Zealand has not been successful, as Japan’s controversial whaling industry in the South Ocean has dominated discussions and media coverage. While their bilateral trade is not a significant percentage of Japanese trade (just shy of $6 billion in 2013) New Zealand is highly critical of Japan’s protectionist agricultural policies and has vowed to block its entrance into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) if they go unchanged.
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