PremiumUK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday signed a major defense agreement during a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in London.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday signed a major defense agreement during a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in London. The pact is considered to be the most significant deal of its type between the two countries.
According to the agreement, the UK and Japan will now allow military forces to be deployed to one another's territory as Tokyo expands bilateral cooperation with other US allies amid concerns about China's rise, as per Bloomberg reports.
The pact also allows planning and delivery of larger, more complex military exercises, the UK government statement stated.
In an official statement after signing the deal, Japan's foreign ministry said, "Signing this important security agreement takes Japan-UK cooperation in security and defense to new heights. It will also bring further progress toward making a free and open Indo-Pacific a reality."
The ministry said that the defense agreement simplifies the procedures required for port visits and joint exercises, allowing for more active exchanges, Bloomberg reported.
The UK becomes the first European country to have such an agreement with Japan, which has a similar deal with Australia.
Recently, Japan’s cabinet has also approved the country’s biggest increase in defense spending since the end of World War II in 1945, updating its national security policy and describing China as an unprecedented “strategic challenge."
The UK, Italy and Japan, last month, had said that they will jointly develop a future fighter jet.
Japan PM Kishida on Monday left for security focused talks with Japan's G7 allies in Europe and North America which ends with a meeting with US President Joe Biden on Friday.
In Paris, he and Emmanuel Macron pledged deeper ties, with the French president promising to maintain "joint actions in the Pacific" and France's "unfailing support" against North Korean aggression. In turn, Kishida vowed G7 support for Ukraine.
(With Bloomberg inputs)