Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is expected to visit Japan for three days from Dec. 17 to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with Tokyo aiming to reach an agreement on facilitating joint exercises between the two countries' defense forces, a government source said Saturday.

It would be the first visit to Japan by Turnbull since he took leadership of the Liberal-National coalition in September. His meeting with Prime Minister Abe is expected to take place Dec. 18.

The envisioned security pact, called a visiting forces agreement, will enable the two nations to conduct joint security exercises and disaster relief operations. Under such an accord, they will be allowed to bring troops, equipment and ammunition into each other's country.

Japan has a similar arrangement with its ally the United States, called the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement. Tokyo deems Australia a potential ally and hopes to deepen security cooperation amid China's rising maritime assertiveness in regional waters.

So far, it has been difficult for the Self-Defense Forces to conduct security exercises with the Australian military in Japan, given domestic legal constraints.

Tokyo and Canberra agreed to begin talks on the deal at a summit meeting in July last year, when Turnbull's predecessor Tony Abbott was the Australian prime minister. The two countries confirmed the need to strike the deal at an early date at a meeting of their foreign and defense ministers last month.

During the upcoming meeting, Abe is expected to pitch to Australia the advantages of partnering with Japan on the planned development of new submarines for the Australian Navy.