David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I do not have at my fingertips the schedule and timetable of the various departmental officers' visitations to Japan—or any other country for that matter. Senior officials in the Defence Department, of their own discretion, can visit countries around the world in pursuit of Australia's best interests in terms of defence capability. We have signed with the Japanese a defence technology exchange agreement and, in the preparation of that agreement, there were a number of meetings with our friends in Japan. There have of course been meetings with a broad range of people—