Reciprocal Access Agreement

A Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) (Japanese: 部隊間協力円滑化協定, lit. 'Force-to-force Cooperation Facilitation Agreement')^[1] refers to a bilateral defense and security pacts between governments that provides shared military training and military operations.^[2][3][4][5] It is an agreement built to create a framework for the two cooperating countries to move their military force whenever required, and also provides a pathway for goods to be imported and exported from one country to the other through following the movement of visiting military forces.^[2]

RAAs have been established between Japan and Australia, as well as Japan and the United Kingdom.^[6][7] For Australia, the signing of a reciprocal access agreement has later been used to further strengthen ties with other countries like India and the United States, and to also renew old pacts like the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation (JDSC).^[8]