The Japanese and US defense chiefs on Saturday took a united stand against security challenges in the region, agreeing to beef up their bilateral alliance and step up involvement in the situation in the South China Sea where China's assertiveness is seen as a concern.

The meeting was the latest in a series of talks that involved U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis who was the first member of the Cabinet of U.S. President Donald Trump to visit Japan, Japanese news agency Kyodo news reported.

Mattis was seen as trying to address any possible concerns Japan may have about the Trump administration, reaffirming fully the U.S. commitment to the defense of Japan and even hailing at a press conference Saturday that Japan's cost-sharing burden for hosting U.S. forces is "a model" for other nations to follow.

The two agreed during their talks to beef up the deterrence power of the alliance and to closely cooperate to deal with the security challenges, which Mattis said range "from the threat of nuclear and missile provocations by North Korea to increasingly confrontational behavior by China in the East and South China seas."

Source: MENA