Japan, Poland look to expand defence equipment ties

Japan and Poland have pledged to expand defence co-operation including potential joint work on defence equipment and technologies, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in Tokyo has told Janes.

A spokesperson said on 19 May that expanded co-operation will be framed around an ‘action plan’ for 2021–25 signed recently by the two governments that calls for deeper bilateral dialogue on defence.

“Japan and Poland will make efforts to foster dialogue [between] high-level officials about matters of national security and defence co-operation, including defence equipment and technology,” said the spokesperson, adding that the action plan also provides a framework for the two countries to sign a formal defence co-operation accord. However, the spokesperson declined to comment on potential areas of co-operation on defence equipment and technologies.

It is possible that Japan and Poland’s deepening defence ties could lead to the two countries signing an agreement termed by Tokyo as the Defense Equipment and Technology Transfer Agreement.

Japanese law requires the MoD to secure this accord with any international partner before Japan can look to export defence equipment or enter any collaborative partnerships on defence equipment and technologies.

To date, Japan has signed the agreement with 11 countries: Australia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam.