Japan and Germany on Thursday agreed to step up their defense cooperation, including starting negotiations on a military pact to exchange supplies and logistical support, Japanese officials said, amid increased military activity by China and Korea from the north.
Ministers from Japan and Germany also confirmed they firmly oppose any unilateral attempts to violently disrupt the status quo in the East and South China Seas, officials said, as China has been criticized for its maritime assertiveness in the waters. Yoshimasa Hayashi met with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Munster, west Germany, while the countries' defense chiefs Yasukazu Hamada and Christine Lambrecht joined them online.
Tokyo and Berlin now intend to sign an agreement such as takeover and crossover. Service Agreement, or ACSA, officials told reporters after the meeting. Japan has already entered into an ACSA that generally allows the two sides to share defense capabilities and supplies, including fuel and ammunition, with nations like the United States, Britain, Australia and India.
Japan and Germany have deepened their security cooperation in recent years amid growing concerns about China's growing economic and military influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Germany, which released comprehensive strategic guidance for the region in 2020, sent three Eurofighter aircraft to Japan for the first time in September.
As the first German naval ship in around 20 years, a German frigate called at the Japanese port in November last year. Test, the first since September 2017, the Japanese and German ministers shared "serious concerns" about Pyongyang's high frequency of ballistic missile launches, officials said. Approach that the security of Europe is inextricably linked to that of Asia.
The two-plus-two meeting is the second such meeting for Japan and Germany after the first talks, which took place in a virtual format in April last year. The meeting took place on the fringes of a two-day meeting of the foreign ministers of the G7 nations until Friday in Münster.