Japan seeks defense talks with US over China’s ‘increasing maritime activities’

Tokyo: Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto has said that his country is seeking talks with the United States to update their mutual defense guidelines.

Morimoto said that he would like to see the talks begin next month and cover a wide range of issues, including a rethink of what actions the countries could take in emergencies. According to Japan Times, Morimoto also expressed concern over China``s increasingly assertive maritime activities. He cited concerns over China``s growing naval power, along with terrorism and cybercrimes. For the past few months, Japan and China have been locked in a dispute over the Japan-held Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the paper said. The US is security treaty-bound to defend Japan if it is attacked, it added. According to the report, the U.S. has about 52,000 service members stationed in Japan. ANI