The foreign and defense ministers of Japan and France held a regular "two plus two" meeting in Tokyo Friday in which they agreed to beef up mutual diplomatic cooperation in securing a "rule-based order" in maritime security, including the East and South China seas.
Foreign Minister Taro Kono, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and French Defense Minister Florence Parly also agreed to cooperate in maintaining "a free and open Indo-Pacific," saying it is "a common interest" of the two countries.
"We agreed to develop our cooperation to make the Indo-Pacific region an international public goods that is free and open," Kono said.