US, Australia invite Japan to step up troop rotations
The United States and Australia said they would welcome Japanese troops into three-way rotations, vowing a united front in the face of China's rapid military advances.
Australia's defence and foreign ministers said they agreed to step up the pace of military interactions with the United States during talks with their counterparts in Washington, after which they will fly to Tokyo.
"It's really important that we are doing this from the point of view of providing balance within our region and involving other countries within our region and we look forward to being able to have more engagement with Japan," Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles told a news conference.
"We can go to Japan at the end of this week with an invitation for Japan to participate in more exercises with Australia and the United States," said Marles.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the allies would seek Japanese participation in joint operations in Australia, where the United States has been rotating Marines since 2011 through Darwin, the strategic northern city struck by imperial Japan in World War II.
"We agreed to enhance trilateral defence cooperation and to invite Japan to integrate into our force posture initiatives in Australia," Austin said.
Japan, a treaty-bound ally of the United States, has in recent years sought growing diplomatic cooperation with Australia, but defence ties have been more sensitive due to Tokyo's official pacifism since defeat in World War II.
