Japan and Great Britain deepen their ties

Ahead of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan and the UK have agreed to strengthen their ties in areas such as defence, trade and technology. to strengthen. Both countries justified their determination to preserve the international order in the Indo-Pacific region.

The deepening of what the two countries call a “global strategic partnership” comes on the back of Britain’s increased involvement in the Indo-Pacific region in recent years.

Japan and Britain share concerns about the situation in the East and South China Seas

Britain will send the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth to Japan in 2021 and will join the TPP free trade agreement, which includes Japan and Australia.

In the deal, both countries expressed serious concerns over the situation in the East and South China Seas, where Beijing has further asserted its territorial claims, including the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands.

They called on China to behave responsibly as a member of the international community and strongly opposed any unilateral attempts to use force to change the situation, with Taiwan in mind. China considers the self-governing island as its territory.

Cooperation of the SDF with the British Armed Forces

Citing a defense cooperation agreement to facilitate joint military exercises, Japan and Britain said they were working to improve interoperability between the Japan Defense Forces and British forces.

In January, the two countries signed an agreement on mutual access to arms, which sets out rules for transporting arms during joint exercises or disaster relief operations in the other country. In December, Japan, Britain and Italy announced plans to jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet by 2035.