UK, Japan sign defense deal amid rising concern about China

The leaders of Britain and Japan are signing a defense agreement on Wednesday that could see troops deployed to each others’ countries.

The two countries are strengthening military ties amid growing concern about China’s increasing military assertiveness and designs toward Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province.

The British government said the defense agreement “cements our commitment to the Indo-Pacific” region. It is due to be signed by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.K. leader Rishi Sunak during a meeting in the symbolic setting of the Tower of London fortress.

The deal has been in the works for years, and was discussed when Kishida visited Sunak’s predecessor, Boris Johnson, in London in May.

The Reciprocal Access Agreement  Japan’s first with a European nation allows the two countries to hold joint military exercises.

The British government said it will allow the armed forces of the two Group of Seven countries “to plan and deliver larger and more complex military exercises and deployments.”