Tokyo (dpa) – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday affirmed close security relations amid China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

Suga said the two key US allies in the region had broadly agreed to conclude a Reciprocal Access Agreement, which would streamline administrative procedures for each country’s use of the other's military bases for joint exercises and disaster relief missions.

Japan and Australia are “special strategic partners” and would “cooperate to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Suga told a joint news conference following their meeting.

Morrison said: “We share a great alliance with the United States. We also share a most significant trade relationship with China and very strong and positive relationships with all the countries, the nation states of the Indo-Pacific, and believe passionately in each of their sovereignty.”

Morrison, who arrived in Japan in the morning for a two-day visit, became the first foreign leader to meet Suga on Japanese soil since he took office as premier in September.

The two countries have expressed concerns about China’s militarization of islands in the South China Sea, the sightings of Chinese coastguard ships near uninhabited islets in the East China Sea and the country’s enactment of a national security law in Hong Kong.

The Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands are also claimed by China and Taiwan, where they are called Diaoyu and Tiaoyutai, respectively.

Last month, the top diplomats from Japan, India, Australia and the United States, a group they call the Quad, met in Tokyo and agreed to enhance their cooperation, with an eye on the Covid-19 pandemic and China's rising clout.