Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and new Australian leader Anthony Albanese agreed Tuesday to deepen bilateral defense and security cooperation as both nations confront the challenges posed by the rise of an assertive China in the Indo-Pacific region.
In their first in-person meeting since Albanese was sworn in as Australia's prime minister on Monday, the two leaders strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and shared the view that the crisis should never be replicated in the Indo-Pacific, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
Deepening cooperation with Pacific island nations was also on the agenda after China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, an arrangement that reportedly enables the deployment of Chinese troops. Kishida and Albanese shared concerns about the agreement, the ministry said.