Interview with Yamato Taro about Japan’s Mogami-class frigate sale to Australia #MoD #大和太郎 #防衛政策局長
[Music] what can you perhaps you can start by by describing the strategic environment Japan Australia and this region faces itself in right now
mhm okay okay um as we all know the um the the strategic situation surrounding Japan um it’s very complex um the difficult testing um and the um well the the degree of difficulty the degree of challenge is only increasing I think we have two nuclear superpowers Russia and China and um China is um quickly well um China is um increasing its military capability and also their operational reach um in this region and u the Chinese really engaged in um their coercive attempt at change the status quo um I think what you what you witness to seeing in the same government is one one of those um um one piece of that’s that’s one indication and also what they’re doing in South China Sea as well um we also have um North Korea um since mid90s um um um having undergone what six week nuclear tests many many ballistic missile launch which really fueled their missile development and u it’s a North Korea’s military development is you know concern for all I think you know um all parties concerned including for Japan
can
sorry to cut to the chase but does the mami help Australia prepare for war or prevent it prepare for war I think you know preparing for war will lead to you know um good chance of preventing more you know how close do you think we are to it
was that
how close do you potentially think we are to it are we skirting around the edges or heading heading straight in are we skirting around the edges of war or do you think we’re heading straight in um I I don’t think we’re you know um are you suggesting that we’re sleepwalking to war or something no
uh Linda Reynolds former defense minister told me she believes we’re already at war in some capacity yeah
war in some capacity um maybe um who said that
linda Reynolds former Australian Defense Minister
oh oh peter Lelay also the former chief of Australia’s army has said he believes we’re at war in some capacity too both cyber and space well it’s if you expand the definition war um what’s happening in the so-called gray zone um you know u could be framed as war although we don’t necessarily frame that as war for example you know you have um many ways in which you engage in strategic competition um sometimes well oftentimes involving um law enforcement entities with uh military assets you know over the horizon if you will and this struggle for competition are you know the the actors engage in those strategic competitions over um you know territory over strategic interests over you know bigger say in international arena um and that struggle or competition really obtains in you know as you said cyerspace and other domains um so you know is one way to say that’s a war but um but it’s it certainly is not a war where you know uh bullets flying what what signal sir do you think uh Australia deciding to buy the mugami will send to Russia and China and what message do you hope to be Well I would just say what the um what kind of message um Australia wants to send is strictly Australian business and what I can say is u u you know Japan well u Japanese NSDF Ka Jai and Australian Navy operating you know common platforms uh which have very high compatibility and interoperability with the US Navy itself is a you know strong message to the the close bind of these three liberal democracies you know of the free world and um you know and I think our friends could leverage that potential in you know in many kinds of messaging that’s that I yeah that’s that’s the way I Okay [Music]
On June 30, 2025, we interviewed with Yamato Taro about Japan’s Mogami-class frigate sale to Australia about its Mogami-class frigate sale to Australia
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