Japan has struggled to export cutting-edge defense equipment. However, past disappointments have been turned on their head after Japan won selection for a lucrative Australian frigate requirement worth up to US$6.5 billion.

Australia has selected Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to build a new class of naval frigate, Defence Minister Richard Marles said, boosting strategic ties between the two US allies.

Against this backdrop, the frigate deal serves as a diplomatic balm. It is both a reassurance to Tokyo and a statement of intent that Australia sees its future defence firmly embedded in the Indo-Pacific, and not just in trans-Atlantic alliances.