South China Sea, Diaoyus and North Korea to top agenda as Japan and Germany's foreign, defence ministers meet with China on their mind
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"Japan is looking to develop new allies and alliances as it was concerned when the US military commitment to the region waned under the previous president and could again in the future," he said, adding: "Tokyo is very much looking to Europe for new security allies."
"The UK was the first to send warships to Japanese waters a couple of years ago and the French have followed suit more recently, with a German warship now due to sail to Japan in the summer."
Germany's close economic relationship with China has raised concerns in Japan of a possible reluctance on Berlin's part to take a firm stance against Beijing, said Shigemura, who anticipated that Tokyo would in future meetings emphasise the need for nations to be united on issues such as human rights and democracy.
James Brown, a professor of international relations at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, agreed that Japan's outreach to European partners is part of an effort to "supplement" its alliance with the US amid concern that Washington's power may be waning.
"A few weeks ago, Japan and Germany signed an agreement on information-sharing and now they are developing the two-plus-two format, so these are all signs that relations are better than good and that Japan now regards Germany as a significant security partner," he said.
Brown said he expected any statement that is released following the meeting to underline both countries' commitment to a "free and open Indo-Pacific" and confirm that they are upgrading their security partnership.
Beijing will be watching developments closely, he said, but is unlikely to react too strongly at this point. A more forceful response could come if the Japanese and German militaries take part in joint training exercises, however.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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