A senior U.S. diplomat said Tuesday that Washington would "welcome" an increase in Japan's defense budget, as has been signaled by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida amid China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
"This is a decision for our sovereign Japanese allies to decide, but I'll be very clear — we would welcome increased Japanese defense spending," Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said in an interview.
