Japan, U.S., Australia, Philippines eye defense chief talks in June

Japanese, U.S., Australian and Philippine defense ministers are planning to hold their first-ever quadrilateral talks in Singapore next month, a diplomatic source said Tuesday, amid China's growing maritime assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.The ministerial gathering would be held as Japan, the United States and Australia have been each bolstering their defense cooperation with the Philippines, while trying to showcase their collaboration as a group of four nations surrounding the Pacific.The meeting by the United States and its three security allies in the Pacific would take place on…READ FULL ARTICLE