Australia minister visits Japan naval base after 'milestone' warships purchase

Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles visited a naval base in Yokosuka on Friday after Canberra announced a US$6 billion deal to buy 11 advanced warships built by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, in what has been billed as one of Japan's biggest defence export deals since World War II.

Marles described the purchase as a "milestone moment in the bilateral relationship between Australia and Japan," during a press conference with his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani.