TOKYO (Kyodo) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson confirmed his country's commitment to the defense of the Senkaku Islands, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday following the first phone conversation between the countries' top diplomats.
Kishida also said he and Tillerson agreed to cooperate closely in order to strengthen the bilateral alliance.
Tillerson said the Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea fall under Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. security treaty, which obliges the United States to protect Japan against armed attack, according to Kishida. The islands are claimed by China which calls them Diaoyu.
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