On September 19, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)’s Hobart-class guided-missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane (DDG-41) called at the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s (JMSDF) Yokosuka Naval Base. The Australian vessel is set to receive maintenance while in Japan.
HMAS Brisbane will be the first active RAN vessel to receive maintenance by Japan for the first time, as Tokyo is strengthening its security cooperation with its ally, the United States, and its quasi-allies such as Australia and the United Kingdom, in response to China’s growing military activities in the Pacific, including the East and South China Seas. In particular, China is now increasingly strengthening its ties with Russia and North Korea.
The latest port call is part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF)’s Regional Presence Deployment involving military visits into the Indo-Pacific region, and participation in exercises and cooperative activities with partner nations such as Japan.
Brisbane’s departure date from Yokosuka has not yet been decided, the JMSDF’s Maritime Staff Office told Naval News on September 19, indicating that the anchorage will continue for a while.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Richard Marles on September 5 announced this new initiative at a joint press conference with Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani held on board the fourth Mogami-class frigate, JS Mikuma at Yokosuka.
On September 6, HMAS Brisbane, the second of three Hobart-class air warfare destroyers in the RAN, and the Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Québec (FFH-332) transited the politically and militarily sensitive Taiwan Strait.
In addition, just before arriving at Yokosuka, HMAS Brisbane conducted a Japan-Australia bilateral exercise with JS Kaga, the second of the Izumo-class helicopter destroyer (DDH) in the Western Pacific. This joint training included various tactical exercises such as anti-submarine warfare and at-sea replenishment to strengthen cooperation to realize a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, according to the JMSDF’s Maritime Staff Office
In the past, HMAS Brisbane, one of Australia’s three Aegis-equipped Hobart-class destroyers, made its first port call at the U.S. Naval Base Yokosuka in October 2021. At the time, the vessel steamed into the homeport of the U.S. 7th Fleet to wait for the delivery of an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter to replace one lost in the Philippine Sea during an exercise earlier that month.
The JMSDF is currently in the process of adding Tomahawk launch functions to all of its eight Aegis destroyers: four Kongo-class, two Atago-class, and two Maya-class.
In December 2024, Brisbane became the first Royal Australian Navy vessel to successfully launch a Tomahawk cruise missile off the west coast of the United States. Australia became only the third country in the world to acquire and launch Tomahawk missiles, after the United States and the United Kingdom. In this sense, Japan will be able to learn a lot through the maintenance and repair of the Australian ship, including the Tomahawk’s capabilities.
