Japan and EU announce a security and defense partnership as regional tensions rise
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Japan and the European Union announced a security and defense partnership on Friday as they seek to step up military ties, including joint exercises and exchanges between their defense industries, amid growing tensions with China, North Korea and Russia. Borrell and Iwaya also shared “grave concern” over Russia's deepening military cooperation with North Korea, including the North's troop deployment to Russia and arms transfers between the two countries, according to an EU statement. Iwaya said Japan-EU relations are stronger than ever, and the two sides “will continue to closely cooperate in a wide range of areas including security.” Earlier Friday, Borrell met with Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and shared the view that security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific is interconnected as they agreed to deepen defense cooperation, Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. “We reaffirmed the need for strengthened EU-Japan cooperation in security and defense, including on maritime security, cyber and hybrid threats amid growing regional and global security challenges,” Borrell said on the social media platform X.