US, Japan to hold ministerial talks on security issues on January 7

Japan and the United States have decided to hold a meeting of their foreign and defence ministers in Washington on January 7 to discuss major security issues, local media reported citing officials on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi are likely to confirm with their US counterparts Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin that the two countries' security alliance should be bolstered in new areas such as space and cybersecurity in the face of China's military modernization and expansion, Kyodo News reported.

According to the Japanese news agency, it will be the two nation's first "two-plus-two" talks since Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took office in early October.

Ahead of the ministerial meeting, Hayashi is expected to attend a UN review conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to be held in New York from January 4 to 28, the officials said.

The move came as concerns have been growing over an escalation of China's maritime assertiveness in the East and South China seas and stepped up military pressure on Taiwan, as well as North Korea's missile and nuclear threats, Kyodo News reported.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has overlapping territorial claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.

( With inputs from ANI )

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