Japan defense chief eyes trip to Australia as China's influence grows

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada is considering visiting Australia in early May to meet with his counterpart Richard Marles and discuss expanding joint exercises and other areas of cooperation to counter China's rapid military buildup in the Indo-Pacific region, government sources said Thursday.Japan aims to strengthen its quasi-alliance with Australia by enhancing the interoperability between their forces and boosting trilateral defense cooperation with the two countries' common close ally, the United States, the sources said.It will be Hamada's first trip to Australia since he took up his…READ FULL ARTICLE