Japan and Britain plan a videoconference of their foreign and defense ministers in February to boost security cooperation, amid China's rising assertiveness in the East and South China seas, according to sources close to the matter.

If realized, the ministers will likely agree to work closely on Britain's plan to dispatch an aircraft carrier strike group, centered on the warship Queen Elizabeth, to the western Pacific for joint naval exercises, the sources said Monday.

They are expected to share concerns about China's unilateral attempts to change the status quo in those bodies of water and send a clear message to the international community that maintaining a free and open maritime order is vital, they said.