The United States and Japan have agreed to set up a facility in Japan for the joint production of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said, in the latest step by the two allies, who have repeatedly voiced alarm over China's growing military assertiveness in Asia.
Koizumi announced the agreement at a news conference in Cebu in the central Philippines, where he met US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on the sidelines of the annual meeting of Southeast Asian defence chiefs and their Asian and Western counterparts.
The missiles, produced under a joint effort called "Operation Supercharge", are "essential for the F-35", Koizumi said, without giving further details of the agreement. The US-made F-35 is one of the world's most advanced fighter aircraft and is also operated by Japan's military.
Koizumi said he and Hegseth "shared a sense of crisis" over the regional situation and agreed to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance "with greater speed and intensity than ever before".
He said the two sides reaffirmed the importance of a free and open international order based on the rule of law that rejects attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion, while adding cautiously that their discussions were not directed at any specific country.
(With inputs from PTI and media reports)
(With inputs from PTI and media reports)