https://ift.tt/2kmUBVA. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed Saturday to bolster ties with Japan amid a changing security landscape in the Indo-Pacific region while meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on the sidelines of the G-7 ministerial in Liverpool.
According to news reports, the top U.S. diplomat and his Japanese counterpart discussed mutual efforts to enhance deterrence and military strike capabilities in the face of China’s military buildup and North Korea’s nuclear program.
“The ministers, in light of the increasingly severe security environment in the region, agreed it is indispensable to boost the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance,” said an official who briefed media after the closed-door meeting.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday unveiled plans to strengthen Tokyo’s military defense posture.
The official said Hayashi and Blinken did not discuss the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics over China’s human rights record, a move recently endorsed by Canada, Australia, Britain and the United States.
Blinken also met briefly with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne on the sidelines of Saturday’s meetings, after which touted a “terrific year” for bilateral ties between the longtime allies without taking questions from reporters.
“Really, really remarkable things between Australia and the United States, from the Quad Leaders’ Summit, to AUKUS, to our 2+2, to the extremely important concentration and coordination on a whole series of issues,” Blinken said.
AUKUS is an acronym for a trilateral alliance between Australia, Britain and the United States, which includes a deal to build nuclear-propelled submarines for Australia—not a G-7 member—as part of enhanced deterrence against China’s military expansion across the Indo-Pacific region.