Japan and Australia signed a landmark defence agreement on Thursday to accelerate military co-operation between the two countries and respond to China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, ahead of a planned summit, signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement to promote joint exercises and disaster relief operations. The treaty sets a legal framework to simplify administrative procedures for the entry of troops into each other’s countries.

The sealing of the pact, which has been in the works for several years and agreed to in principle in November 2020, demonstrates efforts to enhance defence ties in the face of what analysts view as a rising threat from Beijing.