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At the meeting Defence Minister Andrews (left), Prime Minister Abe (center) Defence Minister Nakatani (right) discussed security and Soryu issues, Tokyo, June 3, 2015 (Photo courtesy Government of Japan)
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On June 3, 2015 Japanese
Prime Minister Abe took the unusual step of having talks with a foreign defence
minister below Prime Ministerial level - that was Australian Defence Minister Andrews. This
underlines how seriously Japan takes deeper alliance relations with Australia -
with the pending Soryu sale being a major symbolic and practical component.
Japanese Defence Minister Nakatani also attended. Note that Minister Andrews did not meet the German Chancellor or French President (or Prime Minister) when he visited those countries on submarine issues on April 23 and April 24, 2015 respectively.
On June 4, 2015 Minister Andrews visited the KHI and MHI submarine building yards at Kobe.
On June 4, 2015 Minister Andrews visited the KHI and MHI submarine building yards at Kobe.
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Japan's Jiji Press Agency via the Japan News, June 4, 2015, reported http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002196895 :
"Abe offers cooperation in developing subs"
"Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on [June 3, 2015] told visiting
Australian Defense Minister Kevin Andrews that Japan hopes to cooperate with
Australia on the development of Australia’s next-generation submarines.
In a
meeting held at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, Andrews told Abe that he
will visit shipyards in Kobe on [June 4, 2015] that are run by Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries Ltd. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. The two companies build
submarines for the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
At a
National Security Council meeting last month, the Japanese government decided
to participate in the procedures for Australia’s selection of a partner to
develop the submarines. Japan also decided to disclose some of its submarine
technologies to Australia."
Pete
2 comments:
Hi Peter, here is my attempt at comparing the 3 contenders for SEA 1000, taking into account open source performance of each submarine as well as political factors.
Strengths & Weaknesses of the Contenders for Australia's Submarine Replacement Programme
http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2777
Hi Xavier for NavyRecognition
Thanks for "Strengths & Weaknesses of the Contenders for Australia's Submarine Replacement Programme"
http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2777
I'll reproduce it for comments as the next Submarine Matters blog post.
Regards
Pete
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