US, Australia and Japan vow to work together against China

The United States is pressing a diplomatic offensive to counter Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region
The defence ministers of the US, Australia and Japan agreed on Saturday to boost military cooperation in the face of China’s growing ambitions

United States

Agencies

Published: 9:20am, 2 Oct 2022

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The defence ministers of the United States, Australia and Japan agreed on Saturday to boost military cooperation in the face of China’s growing ambitions.

During their talks in Hawaii, the ministers also “strongly condemned” China’s ballistic missile launches across the Taiwan Strait in August after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, the Japanese defence Ministry said.

“We will continue to strengthen trilateral cooperation to contribute to the realisation of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters.

“We are deeply concerned by China’s increasingly aggressive and bullying behaviour in the Taiwan Strait, and elsewhere in the region,” US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said as he welcomed his counterparts from Australia and Japan to the US military headquarters for the Pacific region.

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“Our interest lies in the upholding of the global rules-based order. But we see that order under pressure in the Indo-Pacific as well, as China is seeking to shape the world around it in a way that we’ve not seen before,” said the Australian minister, Richard Marles.

Hamada also said the ministers confirmed their opposition to “any act that escalates tensions” in reference to the Chinese test-firings of ballistic missiles, some of which fell in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

China conducted large-scale military drills in response to Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, which China regards as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Beijing opposes official contact between the self-ruled island and the United States.

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The ministers vowed to encourage a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues, the ministry added.

Vice-President Kamala Harris travelled last week to Japan and South Korea and said the United States would act without fear or hesitation throughout Asia, including the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing considers Taiwan to be a renegade province and also claims the thin and busy channel of water that separate the two.

Harris also travelled to Seoul and visited the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas. Her visit was designed to show Washington’s commitment to defending South Korea against North Korea.

The United States is pressing a diplomatic offensive to counter Chinese influence in the region.

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On Thursday Washington announced an US$810 million aid package for Pacific Island nations where the United States plans to intensify its diplomatic presence.

To enhance interoperability among their forces, the three countries pledged to expand trilateral drills and facilitate cooperation in defence equipment, technology and information gathering, according to the ministry.

The defence ministerial meeting between Japan, the United States and Australia was the first since they met in Singapore in June on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Reporting by Agence France-Presse, Kyodo