Japan, US Agree to Further Cooperate to Develop New Missile Defence System, Reports Say

TOKYO (Sputnik) - Japanese Defence Minister Taro Kono and US Defence Secretary Mark Esper have agreed to further cooperate on developing a new missile defence system, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday.

The agreement was reached during a meeting in Guam focused on security cooperation and partnership, as well as regional issues.

According to the news agency, the officials discussed interaction in missile defence after Japan abruptly refused to deploy US Aegis Ashore land-based missile defence systems.

In addition, the ministers discussed the situation in East China and South China seas in connection with the increased activity of Beijing in the region and agreed on the inadmissibility of changing the status quo unilaterally by force, as well as on the importance of the rule of law and freedom of navigation.

Japan abandoned its plans to deploy two US missile defence systems in June. According to the Japanese defence minister, the measure was no longer reasonable, as it would cost the budget some $1.86 billion to fix existing technical issues.