WASHINGTON -- Australia and Japan have just signed an historic security agreement. This new pact formalizes the security cooperation that began in secret between the two nations in the 1970s, and which has been moving forward in leaps and bounds since the early 1990s. It specifies a number of areas for security cooperation, including counterterrorism, maritime and aviation security, peace operations and disaster relief. It foreshadows further intelligence collaboration and high-level strategic dialogue. While the agreement itself is not binding, the prospect of a formal security treaty between Australia and Japan has been floated.

Australia and Japan are natural allies. They are liberal democracies with similar economic and political values. They are the United States' closest security partners in the Asia-Pacific. And like the U.S., they are essentially "outsiders" in this part of the world. U.S. professor Samuel Huntington has described Australia as a "torn country," a society divided over whether it belongs to Asia. Despite Japan's geographical location, Huntington describes it not as an Asian power, but as "a society and civilization unique to itself."

Canberra and Tokyo have been building an impressive record of collaboration, especially since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. They, plus South Korea, were the only regional players to send military personnel to support U.S. military operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. They, along with the U.S. and India, were at the forefront of the international response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. They have actively participated in a range of U.S.-led security mechanisms, including the Proliferation Security Initiative and the ministerial-level Trilateral Security Dialogue. Their militaries have cooperated on U.N. peacekeeping operations, most notably in Cambodia and East Timor.