MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2022) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met on Friday with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Tokyo to discuss the security situation in the Indo-Pacific amid perceived threats emanating from China in the region, Japanese media reported.
The parties also pledged to strengthen cooperation in the fields of natural resources and energy, the Kyodo news agency reported.
Later in the day, the Australian ministers are also expected to hold the first "two-plus-two" talks in four years with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, the report added.
In late October, Kishida met with his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, in the Australian city of Perth, where they signed a new declaration on bilateral security cooperation citing China's growing military buildup in the Indo-Pacific.
