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TOKYO, Jan. 30 (AP) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed Monday to strengthen their security, defense and economic ties and pledge to cooperate in responding to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and Europe’s and other threats in Asia.
They said they agreed to upgrade their relationship to a “strategic partnership”, with a defense relationship covering military equipment and technology.
In a joint statement issued after their talks in Tokyo, the two leaders said they recognized the importance of strengthening NATO’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific region and further promoting cooperation between NATO and Japan.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Tokyo on Monday after a visit to South Korea, where he called on Seoul to provide direct military support to Ukraine.
Japan, a close U.S. ally, has in recent years expanded its military ties with other Indo-Pacific nations, as well as Britain, Europe and NATO. Japan also released a new national security strategy, signaling its determination to strengthen its military and move beyond its post-World War II doctrine of limiting itself to self-defense.
Kishida and Mitsotakis said they stressed the importance of the two maritime nations working together to ensure free and safe navigation in open waters, and agreed that a Japan Coast Guard training ship would visit Greece later this year to strengthen their communication and cooperation.
The two leaders expressed their “strong opposition to any unilateral change of the status quo by force or coercion in any place, including the Eastern Mediterranean, East China Sea and South China Sea, so as to aggravate tension and undermine regional stability and international order.” (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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