《TAIPEI TIMES》US, Japan defense heads decry Chinese aggression

Staff Writer, with CNA

The defense ministers of the US and Japan on Wednesday condemned China’s recent aggressive behavior in the Taiwan Strait and the Asia-Pacific region.

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US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Japanese Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada met in Washington exchanged views on a wide range of regional security issues related to the US-Japan alliance, including China’s aggressive actions, the Pentagon said.

It was their first meeting since Hamada took office last month.

“They confirmed their shared goal to modernize the US-Japan alliance, bolster integrated deterrence, and further cooperate with like-minded partners to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific,” a Pentagon readout of the meeting said.

“Let’s be clear, China’s coercive actions in the Taiwan Strait, and the waters surrounding Japan are provocative, destabilizing, and aggressive,” it quoted Austin as saying.

The Pentagon said that Austin emphasized Washington’s commitment to Japan’s defense, saying it includes “our commitment to credible and resilient extended deterrence, using the full range of our conventional and nuclear capabilities.”

The Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Hamada and Austin strongly condemned China’s firing of ballistic missiles into Japan’s exclusive economic zone early last month.

The two officials reaffirmed the importance of ensuring peace and stability in Taiwan Strait, the statement said.

Austin and Hamada also welcomed a plan to host US MQ-9 reconnaissance drones at a Japanese military base in Kagoshima Prefecture to improve the alliance’s ability in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations, the ministry’s statment said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES