Japan and Australia on Thursday reaffirmed defense cooperation and pledged to provide assistance to Pacific island nations to help improve their digital infrastructure, in a bid to counter China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.The two countries' foreign and defense ministers also shared concerns about Chinese military activities in Japan's territory, including the violation of its airspace by a Chinese spy plane last week, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said at a press conference after their meeting at Queenscliff in the southeastern state of Victoria.Japanese Foreig…READ FULL ARTICLE
