Japan, Australia set to tighten military ties to confront China’s influence
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Japan, Australia set to tighten military ties to confront China’s influence

Japan pledged to strengthen military ties with Australia during a high-level visit on Thursday, with Tokyo’s top diplomat saying the “like-minded” partners needed to stick together to combat common regional threats.

Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defence Minister Minoru Kihara met with their Australian counterparts at an old military fort outside Melbourne, where they struck deals on greater air force cooperation and expanded military exercises.

They also agreed to jointly assist the Philippine Coast Guard, which is embroiled in an escalating dispute with Chinese vessels in disputed waters. South China Sea.

“Amid the increasingly difficult security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, we must continuously raise security cooperation between Japan and Australia to a new level,” Kamikawa said after the meeting, boasting of a “like-minded partnership.”

China’s growing economic and military influence in the Asia-Pacific region – and its assertiveness in territorial disputes – has worried the United States and its allies such as Japan and Australia.