Asia Defense | Security | Oceania

Australia-Japan Ink Deal for Mogami-class Frigates

Canberra and Tokyo continue to build closer links with each other, with a shared understanding of the strategic environment, and a high degree of trust

Last week Australia and Japan signed a new agreement for the Australian Navy to acquire Japanese-designed Mogami-class frigates. The agreement follows up on the Albanese government’s decision last August to award the project to Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). Countries like Australia are seeking to diversify their military hardware away from the United States, as the deal demonstrates. Canberra and Tokyo continue to build closer links with each other, with a shared understanding of the strategic environment, and a high degree of trust. 

The deal addresses a significant Australian capability gap. Australia’s ageing Anzac-class frigates are increasingly vulnerable in an era defined by long-range precision strike, drones, and undersea competition. The Mogami-class vessels are designed with stealth characteristics, advanced sensors, and the capability to serve a range of different missions. This is a significant upgrade, enhancing anti-submarine warfare, air defense, and greater long-range strike capabilities. 

The planned fleet will consist of 11 vessels, with the first three constructed in Japan and the remainder in Western Australia. This is consistent with Australia’s new approach to defense hardware, which seeks to build local construction capabilities and seek significant technological transfer. For Tokyo, this is a big step, as it usually is incredibly cautious about sharing technology. 

Alongside the practical implications, there is a symbolic element. This is the largest defense hardware agreement since Japan lifted its arms export ban in 2014, signaling a high degree of trust between Tokyo and Canberra. This marks a further step for Japan in normalizing its role as a military power. 

The Australia-Japan relationship has undergone a significant transformation over the past two decades. Once defined primarily by trade – particularly energy exports from Australia to Japan – it has evolved into an increasingly intimate defense relationship. 

This trajectory accelerated after Japan’s 2014 relaxation of its arms export restrictions, which allowed Tokyo to begin participating in international defense markets. The Mogami deal is, in this sense, a culmination of that shift: Japan is no longer just a security consumer under the U.S. alliance system, but an increasingly active provider of security capabilities.

Although Australia continues to bet on an unreliable United States as the central........

© The Diplomat