THE leaders of Australia and Japan hailed the signing of a “historic” defence treaty today as China warned that the pact must not undermine peace in the region.

The Reciprocal Access Agreement is only Japan’s second such agreement and comes just months after Australia, Britain and the United States signed their Aukus security pact.

Japan is seeking to sign a similar treaty with France and Britain, according to the Kyodo news agency, which said that the two nations “have been increasing defence co-operation with Tokyo in response to an increasingly assertive China.”