TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Pentagon reiterated its defense alliances with South Korea and Japan on Tuesday.

In a meeting with Japan Defense Minister Nakatani in Tokyo, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said, “America's extended deterrence commitment to Japan and the Republic of Korea is ironclad." 

The US and Japan recognize the challenges to regional and global stability, including Chinese coercion in the East China Sea and South China Sea, Austin added, according to the Pentagon.

The same day, Japan hosted the inaugural US-Japan-Philippines Maritime Dialogue. The three countries expressed concerns about China’s “dangerous and unlawful behavior” in the South China Sea and reaffirmed their commitment to upholding international law.

The three countries also exchanged views on enhancing trilateral cooperation and engagement with other regional partners through joint training, maritime law enforcement, and coast guard capacity building, per the US Department of State.

The secretary of defense’s comments come as China has amassed a fleet of nearly 90 navy and coast guard ships near Taiwan and Japan’s southern islands in the East and South China Sea. The large-scale maneuver is assumed to be retaliation for President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) tour of Taiwan’s South Pacific allies last week, which included layovers in Hawaii and Guam.

Taiwan Presidential Office Spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) called the drills “a blatant disruption of the current security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.”