The European Union is seeking security and defence industry partnerships with Japan and South Korea aimed at joint development of military equipment, the Nikkei reported today, citing a senior EU commission official. — Reuters picTOKYO, June 23 — The European Union is seeking security and defence industry partnerships with Japan and South Korea aimed at joint development of military equipment, the Nikkei reported today, citing a senior EU commission official.
The bloc hopes to reach a ministerial-level agreement with Japan by year end, which could help the EU fund joint projects managed by Japanese and European companies, the Nikkei said.Representatives of Japan’s foreign ministry and the South Korean and EU delegations in Tokyo were not immediately available for comment on the report on Sunday.
Tokyo signed a treaty last year to establish a programme to develop an advanced fighter jet with Britain and Italy.This month Japan started talks with the United States on forging deeper defence industry collaboration under the US-Japan Forum on Defence Industrial Cooperation, Acquisition and Sustainment, established in April by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Joe Biden.