Japan and U.S. concerned over China bid to undermine rules-based order

Japanese and U.S. foreign and defense chiefs on Friday shared their concerns about China's attempts to "undermine the rule-based order" and challenges they pose to the region and world, vowing to cooperate in deterring and responding to "destabilizing activities."

In a joint statement issued after their virtual "two-plus-two" talks, the ministers highlighted the "importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," while opposing any unilateral actions threatening Japan's administration of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, controlled by Japan but claimed by China.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and their U.S. counterparts, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, also aired "serious and ongoing concerns" about human rights issues in China's Xinjiang autonomous region and Hong Kong.