Japan adds another measure to isolate and deter China.

Shinzo Abe is the first Japanese Prime Minister to make an official visit to Australia since 2002.

According to RFI, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe embarked on a three-country tour of Oceania on July 6, 2014, with the main focus being a visit to Australia (July 7-10).

In Canberra, the Japanese Prime Minister and his Australian counterpart will approve a number of decisions aimed at further strengthening defense relations between the two countries, including Australia's search for weapons purchases from Japan.

The importance of Shinzo Abe's visit to Australia is reflected in the fact that he is the first Japanese Prime Minister to make an official visit to Australia since 2002.

The visit took place just days after Abe declared that the Japanese military must have the right to engage in combat to defend allies, a move welcomed by Canberra but condemned by Beijing as having expansionist implications.

According to the French news agency AFP, since taking power in Australia last September, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has sought to court Japan on security and trade issues, emphasizing the "special" nature of the Australia-Japan relationship, at a time when the whole of Asia is reviewing its policies in the face of China's increasingly assertive stance in the region.

The Australian Prime Minister's aspirations align with Tokyo's new strategic shift since Abe took power, and the Japanese Prime Minister is also keen to strengthen and consolidate relations with Australia amid escalating tensions between Beijing and its neighbors over the South China Sea and East China Sea.

Specifically, according to AFP, the leaders of Australia and Japan – both key allies of the US in the Asia-Pacific region – will announce their decision to hold an annual summit.

In addition, security issues raised by Mr. Abbott during his visit to Tokyo in April will continue to be discussed. An agreement on submarines, allowing Australia access to Japanese defense technology, is likely to be finalized.

Mr. Abe will also attend a meeting of the National Security Committee, and will be the first Japanese Prime Minister to deliver a speech in the Australian Parliament, a gesture of great symbolic significance.

Australia's strengthening of security and defense ties with Japan, however, has also generated some cautious reactions from observers. Speaking to the French news agency AFP, defense analyst Hugh White noted that any move by Canberra to further strengthen security relations with Tokyo would be seen by China – Australia's key economic partner – as contrary to its strategic interests, given the current tensions between Japan and China.

According to Soha.vn