Japan and the US have expressed concerns over China's constant attempts to undermine the rules-based order and vowed to cooperate in deterring and responding to the challenges posed by Beijing in the region and world, reported local media.
Japanese and US Foreign and Defence Ministers, in a joint statement issued after their virtual "two-plus-two" talks, highlighted the "importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait" while opposing any unilateral actions threatening Japan's administration of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, controlled by Japan but claimed by China, reported Kyodo News.
The ministers vowed to cooperate in deterring and responding to "destabilising activities".
Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, and their U.S. counterparts Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also expressed "serious and ongoing concerns" about human rights issues in China's far-western Xinjiang autonomous region and Hong Kong, said Kyodo News.
After the talks with the US, Hayashi told that key discussions took place during the 2+2 over further strengthening Washington-US relations and how to tackle the challenges effectively. Hayashi also said that he found the joint statement very ambitious.
The teleconference among the ministers took place amid an escalation of Beijing's maritime assertiveness in the East and South China seas and stepped-up military pressure on Taiwan.
( With inputs from ANI )
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