Japan backs close security ties with India, South Korea

JAPAN has said that it backed close security cooperation with South Korea and India in the Indo-Pacific, days after the Philippines’ military chief said a US-backed security group wanted both nations to join to counter China in the region.

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Japan’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement to Reuters on Monday that it supported building a multi-layered network of alliances in general, but declined to say whether it has given its consent or made any specific considerations on the expansion of the Squad group.

The Squad is an informal multilateral grouping made up of Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the US, focused on defence cooperation, intelligence sharing, and joint military exercises and operations.