UK foreign and defense ministers visit battleships in Japan

Jan 12, 2016 The UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Defense Secretary Michael Fallon recently visited Japan, during which they reaffirmed UK’s security partnership with Japan.

On arrival, both officials were welcomed by dozens of Maritime personnel at the entrance of the Japanese battleship “Izumo”. They were also taken on a tour through the waiting room and other parts of the ship.

Commenting on the reason for visiting the ship, Hammond said:

“We’re both here to show, to put some flesh around the statement in the strategic defense and security review, that Japan is our most important security partner in Asia,”

Hammond and Fallon’s visit came several hours ahead of a two-plus-two meeting with their Japanese counterparts.

One of the topics discussed during the visit was the claimed hydrogen bomb test by North Korea announced by the country’s state TV.

Speaking to this regard, Hammond said”:

“The world will, the international community will come together to condemn this action by DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), which they claimed was a test of a hydrogen bomb, a two stage nuclear device. If that is what it was, then it clearly didn’t succeed,”