U.S. and Japan agree to step up security cooperation amid China worries

Reuters:

WASHINGTON, Jan 11 – The United States and Japan on Wednesday announced stepped-up security cooperation in the face of shared worries about China, and Washington strongly endorsed a major military buildup Tokyo announced last month.

A joint statement issued after a meeting between their foreign and defense ministers in Washington said the two countries “provided a vision of a modernized Alliance postured to prevail in a new era of strategic competition.”

“We agree that the PRC is the greatest shared strategic challenge that we and our allies and partners face,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a joint news conference after the meeting, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

At the briefing, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced plans to introduce a Marine Littoral Regiment in Japan, which would bring significant capabilities, including anti-ship missiles. Blinken said that two sides also agreed to extend the terms of their common defense treaty to cover space.