The US and Japanese defense ministers agreed to strengthen military cooperation, which should become the “cornerstone” of the security of the Indo-Pacific region.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, after meeting with his Japanese counterpart Yasukazu Hamad, announced Washington's readiness to defend Tokyo with nuclear weapons.
This is stated in an official press release on the Pentagon website.
During the meeting, Austin discussed China's actions near Taiwan and Japan's borders with his Japanese counterpart. He denounced them as “aggressive” and “provocative.”
“We share the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region based on the rules of international order. But China's recent aggressive behavior [near Taiwan] and unprovoked invasion Russia to Ukraine are major challenges to this vision,” the Pentagon chief said.
Austin noted America's commitment to protecting Japan, noting that this includes “our commitment to credible and sustainable extended deterrence using the full range of our conventional and nuclear opportunities.”
The Japanese minister agreed that no country has the right to change the rules-based order unilaterally.
Hamada said that Japan also wants to work closely with the United States in order to modernize, in particular, their military potential.
Recall that after the US State Department approved the sale of weapons to Taiwan in the amount of $ 1.1 billion, in China The embassy warned of a serious threat to relations between Washington and Beijing.
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