Japan, Britain agree to boost defence cooperation

Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani and British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon in Saturday agreed to bolster bilateral cooperation.

Nakatani and Fallon met on Saturday in Tokyo. Fallon came to Japan for a meeting of foreign affairs and defence chiefs that was held on Friday, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Nakatani said it is meaningful that the ministers exchanged views on North Korea and China. He added that he wants to deepen defence cooperation through further discussions.

Fallon said certain parties in the region are changing the status quo not through negotiation but by force and intimidation. He said he wants to study ways to expand bilateral security relations.

Both condemned North Korea's latest nuclear test as a serious threat and agreed to continue sharing information on the issue and to step up cooperation.

They also confirmed that they will aim to sign a deal to allow their troops to provide each other with water, fuel and other supplies during disaster relief operations.