US, Japan to Bolster Defense and Research Collaboration Amid China’s ‘Provocative Actions’ in Disputed Seas

US, Japan to Bolster Defense and Research Collaboration Amid China’s ‘Provocative Actions’ in Disputed Seas
Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department in Washington on Dec. 9, 2021. Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
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The United States and Japan will bolster defense collaboration under two new agreements in the wake of China’s “provocative actions” in the disputed South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.

Speaking at the opening of a virtual meeting between the two countries’ foreign and defense ministers, Blinken said the allies will sign a new five-year agreement on U.S. military presence in Japan, which will help to “deepen our military readiness and interoperability.”