Top naval commanders of South Korea, the United States and Japan gathered in Seoul on Wednesday for talks to strengthen trilateral maritime security cooperation, South Korea's Navy said. The meeting included Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler and Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, who held bilateral talks and a trilateral dinner. The discussions occurred amid Middle East tensions and U.S. requests for support in the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan and Indonesia have agreed to start working-level talks on exporting Asagiri-class destroyers. The agreement came during a meeting between defense ministers in Tokyo.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced on Tuesday a five-day trip to Indonesia and the Philippines starting Sunday. He described the move amid Japan's most severe postwar security environment. Koizumi is set to meet his Indonesian counterpart on Monday and Philippine counterpart on Tuesday.
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back met with his Philippine and Norwegian counterparts in Singapore on Saturday to discuss expanding defense and defense industry cooperation.
Japan's defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi rejected China's accusations of militarism at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday. He criticised Beijing's military expansion and lack of transparency instead.
South Korea and Japan are set to hold their first vice-ministerial "2+2" security talks in Seoul on Thursday. The meeting aims to boost cooperation on shared security concerns.