The United Kingdom and Australia signed a new defense agreement in Canberra today, paving the way for hosting their respective troops and sharing military intelligence.
The text includes a "status of forces agreement" and "facilitates" joint operations in the two countries, the Australian Ministry of Defense announced.
British Defense Minister Grant Shapps signed the agreement with his Australian counterpart Richard Marles during a ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra.
The agreement does not constitute a true mutual defense pact, which would require one party to intervene if the other was attacked or threatened.
But both sides said they were "committed to engaging" each other in the event of a threat.
“As the world becomes increasingly complex and uncertain, we must modernize our most important partnerships,” Marles said.
"The agreements we have reached today will guarantee this result in the future," he added.
Australia already has a long-standing Status of Forces Agreement with the United States.
And together with the USA and the United Kingdom it is a member of the young Aukus defense alliance, a pact aimed at curbing Chinese military expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.
One of the main pillars of this pact is to provide Australia with a fleet of powerful nuclear-powered submarines.
Today's agreement would therefore facilitate, for example, the training of Australian sailors on British nuclear submarines or the installation of British crews in Australia.
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