Japan, Australia Should Cooperate More in the Push for Democracy

Japan and Australia should not only cooperate on military development but work together on countering coercion and anti-democratic trends in the Indo-Pacific, according to a report published by the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre (USSC). The “Aligning Values and Interests: Japanese and Australian democracy support in the Pacific and Southeast Asia” report emphasised that efforts to provide aid and infrastructure in the region will fail to counter malign influences without an accompanying push for democratic values. It explains that although both Australia and Japan have adopted a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy, they have traditionally shown reluctance to directly provide democracy support, promote liberal democratic system values, and aid in democracy initiatives that go beyond elections in the region....