Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will deliver the first of Australia's new navy frigates under a A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) deal, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday. T

Australia said Tuesday it accepted a Japanese company's bid for a lucrative and hotly contested contract to build Australian warships, expected to be worth 10 billion Australian dollars ($6.5 billion).

Against this backdrop, the frigate deal serves as a diplomatic balm. It is both a reassurance to Tokyo and a statement of intent that Australia sees its future defence firmly embedded in the Indo-Pacific, and not just in trans-Atlantic alliances.