Japan, UK reaffirm their support for Ukraine

The Japanese and UK foreign and defense ministers at a meeting in Tokyo reaffirmed their support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion.

According to Kyodo, Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and their British colleagues James Cleverly and Grant Shapps also condemned terror attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel, and agreed to deepen their security partnership in the Indo-Pacific region amid China's assertive military posture in the region.

The meeting participants discussed the coordination of efforts of the two countries to China’s actions voicing "strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion" and "serious concern over the situation in the East and South China seas.”

Today's talks in the two-plus-two format were the first since the last virtual meeting between the two countries in February 2021.

The ministers also agreed that Japan and Britain would expand joint drills following the enactment of a Reciprocal Access Agreement in mid-October.

As reported by Ukrinform, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said that the war between Israel and Hamas would not affect the support for Ukraine by the Group of Seven (G7) countries.

Photo: Kyodo