U.S. and Japan defense chiefs agree to beef up Nansei Islands presence

New Protection Minister Gen Nakatani has held his first talks together with his U.S. counterpart, with the 2 agreeing to proceed increasing their bilateral presence in Japan’s far-flung Nansei Islands close to Taiwan.

Nakatani and Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke over the telephone late Tuesday, the Protection Ministry stated in an announcement, with efforts to modernize the alliance’s command-and-control framework one other focus of the talks.

The ministers stated they may proceed “to work extra intently than ever earlier than,” together with with regional companions “in mild of rising makes an attempt to unilaterally change the established order by power or coercion within the Indo-Pacific area,” the assertion stated.