Comment Tell A Friend Print Format Save Article Japan and Australia set an outline for their groundbreaking defense pact yesterday and agreed to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy in the region, saying it was one option to tackle climate change.



Meeting on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Australian counterpart John Howard backed an "action plan" for their defense agreement signed in March, Japan's first with a country other than the United States.



The plan includes cooperation in areas such as peacekeeping and counter-terrorism.



"We intend to steadily implement this action plan so that both Japan and Australia can contribute further to the peace and stability of the region," Abe told reporters.



"We also intend to promote cooperation among Japan, Australia and the United States," he said.



Japan and Australia held their first ever trilateral summit with the United States on Saturday.



A Japanese official said there was no plan for now to make the three-way talks a regular gathering.



Howard yesterday defended his meeting with US and Japanese leaders as natural for the three countries.



"It's not something that he has had trouble with in any way," Howard said.



Howard reiterated an explanation that he had made earlier - that as democracies the United States, Japan and Australia had natural reasons to discuss regional security and that their meeting was not directed at China. "It is not directed at anybody," he said.



Saturday's meeting between Howard, US President George W. Bush and Abe was their first ever discussion of regional security issues. The leaders talked about China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India and climate change.



Abe and Howard also signed a joint statement on climate change and energy security, which included a commitment to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, a focus of many countries as they try to curb greenhouse gas emissions.



The agreement, which noted that Japan was one of the largest importers of Australia's uranium, is seen as ensuring a steady supply of the material for Japan as it scrambles for energy resources.



Australia would also seek Japan's cooperation in building and operating nuclear power plants in the future.



Source: China Daily/agencies



