Australia has not yet received a proposal for joint military training exercises with Japan, Canberra officials said Saturday. The officials were commenting on speculation that Japanese troops could soon be training on Australian soil under expanded military cooperation agreed between Canberra and Tokyo. A spokesman for Defense Minister Robert Hill said no plan was in play, but that the minister was looking forward to meeting his new Japanese counterpart and learning more of Tokyo's new defense posture. Last week Japan moved to shift away from its post-war pacifist stance, end a ban on arms exports and take a bigger role in the international war on terror. The departure is a response to perceived threats from China and North Korea. The United States, which has a formal defense pact with Australia, trains armed forces personnel in Australia. So does Singapore.
