NUSA DUA, Indonesia, (PNA/Kyodo) — The foreign ministers of Japan, the United States and Australia met Friday over issues of joint concern including China’s maritime assertiveness and the situation in Syria, Japanese officials said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and new Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop met for strategic talks on the sidelines of the two-day ministerial meeting in Bali, Indonesia, of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which started the same day.
China, which also joined the APEC meeting, has territorial disputes in the South China Sea with various Southeast Asian countries.
While Beijing has displayed resolve to protect its interests, the Southeast Asian nations with rival claims have argued for a peaceful solution and the creation of a code of conduct to be observed by all claimants.
Japan, facing growing tension over China’s protest against Tokyo’s control of a group of uninhibited islands in the East China Sea, has said it will reject “any attempt to alter the status quo by force.”
Kishida was expected to reiterate Japan’s stance in the meeting with Kerry and Bishop.
The three foreign ministers were also likely to discuss the civil war in Syria and expected to send a strong message urging the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to fully respect the U.N. Security Council resolution adopted unanimously last week on the dismantling of the country’s chemical weapons.