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WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (PTI) The United States and Japan said on Friday that, working with India and Australia, they will ensure that the quartet continues to be a force for good.
The two countries said in a joint statement after U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met at the White House on Friday.
“Building on our unbreakable bilateral relationship, we will also work with other countries in the region and beyond for the benefit of the Indo-Pacific region and the world,” the joint statement said.
“Together with Australia and India, we will ensure that the Quartet continues to be a force for good, committed to delivering tangible benefits to the region, including in areas such as global health, cybersecurity, climate, critical and emerging technologies, and maritime domain awareness. to achieve results,” it read.
The quartet, known as the Quad Security Dialogue, consists of India, the United States, Japan and Australia.
According to the joint statement, Japan and the United States will continue to support the centrality and unity of ASEAN and the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Outlook.
Earlier, Biden said in a joint media appearance in the Oval Office that the United States has never been closer to Japan than it is now.
“Last year in Japan, you said to me, and I quote, ‘We are two countries that share fundamental values.’ “I totally agree with you. We are. These shared democratic values ​​are the source of our strength, the source of our alliance, and the source of what we can do for all of us,” he said.
“We are modernizing our military alliances, building on Japan’s historic increase in defense spending and a new national security strategy. Let me be clear: The United States is completely, utterly, utterly committed to the alliance and, more importantly, to the Defense of Japan,” Biden said.
“We are working closely on technical and economic issues, including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework,” he said.
Prime Minister Kishida said that Japan and the United States are currently facing the most challenging and complex security environment in modern history.
To ensure and contribute to peace and prosperity in the region, while also maintaining peace and security in Japan, the Asian nation formulated a new national security strategy late last year, he said.
“In doing so, Japan decided to fundamentally strengthen our defense capabilities, including having the ability to fight back, and to ensure this, increased our defense budget. This new policy was proposed by Japan, and I believe it will be a disservice to the alliance There are also benefits to the deterrence and response capabilities of Japan,” Kishida said.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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