China's maritime aggression brings US, Japan closer

THE United States and Japan issued scathing verbal attacks on China and Russia on Sunday after high-level discussions on enhancing already close defence collaboration between Tokyo and Washington in an increasingly unstable region.

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A joint statement issued after "2+2" talks in Tokyo between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts said China's "foreign policy seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others". They also reiterated their “strong objections" to China's "unlawful maritime claims, militarisation of reclaimed features, and threatening and provocative activities in the South China Sea".