Japan to deploy soldiers to northern Australia to train with their American, Australian counterparts

Japan will deploy soldiers to northern Australia to train with their American and Australian counterparts on a regular basis, a top defense official said on Sunday.

Australia's Defense Minister Richard Marles made the announcement in Darwin following meeting with his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

"So, we have spoken to Japan about having their Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade doing training with our own defence force, with our own army and with the U.S. marines. And we'll have more to say about that when we do the announcement later today," Marles said in an interview with a local broadcaster, the transcript of which was later made public by his office.

Currently 2,000 US Marines deployed in Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory.

Japanese troops are expected to join their counterparts from next year.

Later, in a joint statement, the three countries announced the establishment of "Trilateral Defence Consultations" to support the alignment of policy and operational objectives of the Japan Self Defense Forces, Australian Defence Force, and United States forces from peacetime to contingency.

"We reiterate our serious concern about destabilising actions in the East and South China Seas, including dangerous conduct by the People's Republic of China (PRC) against Philippines and other coastal state vessels," said the statement.

The defense ministers also reiterated their strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.