The foreign ministers of Japan and Canada agreed Tuesday to begin negotiations on signing an agreement for exchanging intelligence to boost security cooperation.
Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly announced the two nations' action plan toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific region at a joint press event held after their meeting in Tokyo, with the plan envisioning an agreement on the intel-sharing accord "as soon as possible."
The move comes as the Group of Seven industrialized nations, including Japan and Canada, deepen their defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region where China has been ramping up military presence, while pressuring Russia over its invasion of Ukraine with sweeping economic sanctions.
Hayashi and Joly also expressed their "strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo including those by force in the East and South China seas," in a veiled counter to Beijing's growing maritime assertiveness in the area.
"Japan, together with Canada, will play a leading role to meet the international community's most important strategic challenge in securing peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," Hayashi told the press.
Joly referred to Beijing's "escalatory actions" in the East and South China seas as well as its "coercive military actions" in the Taiwan Strait as "unacceptable threats to the regional stability and security." Canada and Japan are united in condemning such actions, she said.
Japan has already concluded similar intelligence-sharing pacts with the United States, France, Australia, Britain, India, Italy, South Korea and Germany, as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Japan and Canada also pledged to expand their defense cooperation such as joint drills and personnel exchanges, and to work together in securing supplies of energy resources such as liquefied natural gas, according to the action plan.
Amid fears that North Korea may be preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test, its first since September 2017, the two ministers confirmed their close cooperation in dealing with Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development, and its illegal ship-to-ship transfers of goods.
As members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, they also vowed to uphold its high standards for market access and rules, and the principle of not tolerating "economic coercion and unfair trade practices," apparently reflecting their cautious stance toward China's bid to join the 11-member pact.
Joly is on a trip to South Korea and Japan from Sunday through Saturday, according to the Canadian government.
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