Baku, December 18, AZERTAC
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull on Friday vowed to accelerate negotiations over an agreement aimed at facilitating joint operations and exercises as part of increased defense cooperation, according to Kyodo news.
In Turnbull's first trip to Japan since taking office in September, the two leaders also affirmed closer security ties with the United States and India in the face of China's growing maritime assertiveness.
"They encouraged continued progress, with a view to concluding negotiations at the earliest possible opportunity," a joint statement issued after the talks in Tokyo said, referring to an agreement to reciprocally improve administrative, policy and legal procedures to facilitate joint operations and exercises.
