Japan, Britain ministers hold security talks amid China’s activities in East and South China seas
- Japan and UK ministers were expected to discuss ways of ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region based on the rule of law, according to Japanese foreign ministry officials
- The meeting came as Japan and Britain both share concerns about China’s rising maritime assertiveness and its attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China seas
In the so-called two-plus-two meeting, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi, and their British counterparts Dominic Raab and Ben Wallace were expected to discuss ways of ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region based on the rule of law, according to Japanese Foreign Ministry officials.
Tokyo seeks US vow of support in East China Sea, as dispute heats up
Japan welcomes the dispatch of the Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s largest warship commissioned in 2017, as it shows the country’s strengthened commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, they said.
The Japanese and British ministers are set to affirm working toward the goal of North Korea abandoning weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, the officials said.
Ties between Britain and China have soured over Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong after a new national security law was imposed last year in the former British colony.
Britain formally requests to join Asia-Pacific mega trade pact
Britain said through the accession to the CPTPP covering 13 per cent of the global gross domestic product, it hopes to tap into the Pacific region’s economic potential and contribute to expanding rules-based international order.
The bilateral two-plus-two meeting was previously held in December 2017 in London. The two sides initially aimed to hold it in April 2019 but had to postpone it as London juggled Brexit and the novel coronavirus pandemic.