Australia and Japan have signed contracts launching a $7 billion (AUD $10 billion) agreement for Japan to supply Australia with warships, formalising one of Tokyo's most significant military sales since it lifted a decades-long arms export ban in 2014. Defence Ministers Richard Marles and Shinjiro Koizumi signed a memorandum in Melbourne on Saturday reaffirming both governments' commitment to delivering the vessels. The deal marks a deepening of Indo-Pacific security ties between the two US allies, widely seen as part of broader efforts to counter China's growing naval presence in the region.