Tokyo, 11 February, /AJMEDIA/
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken began talks in Australia on Friday at which they are expected to discuss the situation surrounding Ukraine as fears grow of a possible Russian invasion.
Hayashi and Blinken are also likely to take up their security alliance and how to address China’s growing military and economic clout in the Indo-Pacific region as well as North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats, according to Japanese government officials.
Their second in-person meeting since Hayashi assumed his post in November was held on the sidelines of a gathering of foreign ministers of the Quad group, also including Australia and India, to be held in the southeastern Australian city of Melbourne later in the day.
The bilateral talks came after Russia launched military exercises in Belarus on Thursday, heightening tensions over a build-up of its troops along its border with Ukraine.
Japan, a major liquefied natural gas purchaser, decided on Wednesday to provide a portion of its LNG imports to Europe from March at the request of the Western nations.
Washington and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies have indicated that they would impose economic and financial sanctions on Russia if it uses military force against Ukraine. Moscow, in retaliation, could cut off natural gas supplies to Europe, which relies on Russia for 40 percent of its imports.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan would take “strong action in response to any attack” on Ukraine when he held a virtual summit with U.S President Joe Biden late last month. Washington has urged Japan to consider imposing economic sanctions if Russia launches an invasion, according to diplomatic sources.
Hayashi and Blinken are also likely to touch on a bilateral high-level economic dialogue during their talks after their leaders agreed during the online summit to launch the new initiative, an economic version of the “two-plus-two” security talks involving foreign and defense chiefs.
The top diplomats of the two countries last met in December in Liverpool, England, on the sidelines of the two-day Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting.
After meeting with Blinken, Hayashi will hold his first face-to-face talks with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar ahead of the Quad gathering.
