Britain's Defense Minister Grant Shapps, right, is escorted by Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, left, after reviewing an honor guard ahead of a bilateral meeting at the defense ministry Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese and British foreign and defense ministers met Tuesday and agreed to further deepen military cooperation under a new security pact that allows their militaries to enter each other’s territory for joint exercises.

Japan and Britain have expanded their cooperation in recent years as concern has grown over China’s increasing influence. Japan, whose only treaty ally is the United States, has signed Reciprocal Access Agreements with Australia and the U.K., making them semi-allies.

The talks in Tokyo among Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defense Secretary Grant Shapps are the first since the RAA took effect in mid-October.

They met on the sidelines of a gathering of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations on Tuesday and Wednesday that is expected to focus on the Israel-Hamas war, the Russia-Ukraine war and tension in the Indo-Pacific region.

Later Tuesday, Shapps told several selected journalists, including from The Associated Press, that the reason for their meeting is to show in the Indo-Pacific “that despite what's going on in Europe, and despite what's going on in the Middle East, we are still here today, and that I think shows enduring strength of our relationship with Japan."

The four ministers agreed to expand their joint exercises, including the annual Japan-UK joint exercise, Vigilant Isles 23, starting later this month, according to a joint statement issued after their talks. They also agreed on using the RAA to realize an “even more ambitious program of more frequent and complex exercises” than before.

Shapps said the four ministers reaffirmed their commitment to project Global Combat Air Program, or GCAP which will see the rollout of a next-generation fighter jet in 2035 that Japan and Britain are jointly developing with Italy.

The two sides also announced cooperation in new areas such as space and cybersecurity, based on an accord reached between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in May.

Last December, Kishida’s government announced a new Japanese mid- to long-term strategy to build up its security and defense — including counterstrike capability — in a major shift from the country’s self-defense-only principle adopted after World War II, citing growing threats in the region, including from China.

While strengthening military relations with longtime U.S. allies, Japan is rapidly developing ties with the Philippines to reinforce deterrence against China as it raises tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

In talks last week in Manila, Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed to start negotiations on an RAA and announced that coastal surveillance radar would be provided to the Philippine navy under a new security grant program in which Japan aims to strengthen the militaries of friendly countries.

Japan has had a longstanding territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea.

News from © The Associated Press, 2023