Japan, U.S., Australia to Step Up Defense Consultation

   Tokyo, Nov. 17 (Jiji Press)--The defense ministers of Japan, the United States and Australia said Sunday that the three countries will set up a new consultative body to expand trilateral operational coordination.
   The three countries will establish the Trilateral Defense Consultations to "support alignment of policy and operational objectives" of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, the Australian Defense Force and U.S. forces "from peacetime to contingency," the ministers said in a joint statement after their meeting in Darwin, Australia.
   The statement said Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles recognize "the critical role the trilateral partnership plays to uphold regional stability."
   The three ministers said, "We commit to trilateral policy coordination and to consult each other on regional security issues and contingencies."
   The ministers said the three countries will expand their joint exercises to increase the trilateral interoperability of the SDF, the ADF and U.S. forces.

(2024/11/17-22:02)