Japan, Us Defense Ministers Meet In Guam
Japan's Defense Minister Kono Taro and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper have agreed to oppose China's unilateral attempts to change the status quo by coercion.
In a meeting in Guam on Saturday, Esper referred to Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's announcement of his resignation and called him a great leader who worked to strengthen bilateral ties in security and other areas.
Kono responded saying that he had worked to rebuild the Japan-US alliance and had made it stronger than ever.
With China's increased military activity in the East China Sea and the South China Sea in mind, Kono said the world is changing dramatically due to China's attempts to change the status quo by coercion.
The defense minister also said it is necessary to strengthen cooperation with like-minded countries.
The two ministers also agreed that North Korea must fully implement a UN Security Council resolution to completely and irreversibly dismantle its ballistic missiles of all ranges.
They confirmed their countries will work together to come up with a replacement for the land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system, which Japan had planned to deploy in Yamaguchi and Akita Prefectures but then decided against it..
After the meeting, Kono held an online news conference. He said that, amid the coronavirus pandemic, China's attempts to change the status quo by coercion are accelerating in the Indo-Pacific region, including areas around Japan.
He said it was meaningful to show the international community the strength of the Japan-US ties at a time when the security environment is rapidly changing.
