Japan, Australia affirm importance of peace across Taiwan Strait

Japan and Australia underscored on Wednesday the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait for the first time in bilateral talks, while agreeing to deepen security cooperation amid China's rising assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.The defense and foreign ministers of the two countries affirmed Japan's Self-Defense Forces will protect Australian military assets in noncombat situations in a move to bolster their "quasi alliance" in the face of China's military buildup and its assertive territorial claims in the East and South China seas.The development "will lead to boo…READ FULL ARTICLE