This week, the Australian government announced that Japan has won the hard-fought competition to provide the Royal Australian Navy’s next surface warfare vessel and that it will purchase up to 11 Mogami-class frigates.
The amount of money in the deal is a whopping 10 billion Australian dollars (¥950 billion) to be committed over about 20 years.
While the price tag and length of the deal are substantial, they are only partly why this agreement is so significant. For Japan, it signals a key step in the evolution of its defense industry. For Australia, it offers a viable near-term solution to modernizing its navy while also supporting its own domestic shipbuilding industries. Equally important is what it means for the deepening relationship between the two countries based on the long-term commitment they are embarking upon together.
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