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| Image: Flickr User - UK in Japan- FCO |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
London and Tokyo aim to tighten their defense relations in 2016.
Japan and the United Kingdom are seeking to deepen defense cooperation in 2016 including possible joint military exercises and pushing ahead with the development of a new air-to-air missile, according to U.K. Defense Secretary, Michael Fallon, who visited Japan in the first week of January.
“Japan is our closest security partner in Asia and I want to significantly deepen defense cooperation between our two nations,” Fallon said in a joint press release. “We will do that through joint exercises, reciprocal access to our military bases, military personnel exchanges and cooperation on equipment, including a new air-to-air missile.”
The British defense secretary was in Tokyo on January 8, alongside Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani.
Among other things, both sides are now investigating the possibility of a joint combat jet exercise involving Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft of the Royal Air Force in Japan, following a Five Powers Defense Arrangement Exercise in 2016.
Read the full story at The Diplomat