TOKYO • Newly appointed United States Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and his Japanese counterpart Nobuo Kishi agreed to strengthen the alliance between their two countries in a phone call yesterday, Japan's Defence Ministry said in a statement.

In the first call between the two since Mr Austin's confirmation last Friday, they agreed that Article 5 of the US-Japan security treaty, which obliges the US to respond to an attack on Japanese-administered territory, applies to East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China.

The defence chiefs also expressed opposition to efforts to undermine Japanese control of the uninhabited islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. Government ships from Japan and China frequently chase one another around the area.

On North Korea, the duo agreed to cooperate on working towards the complete and verifiable abandonment of the country's weapons of mass destruction, as well as ballistic missiles of all ranges.

Mr Austin expressed willingness to visit Japan as soon as possible, the ministry said.

While agreeing on the importance of US troops stationed in the Asian nation, Mr Kishi urged the US defence chief to cooperate in reducing the burden on local residents of hosting military bases.

Mr Austin and Mr Kishi agreed that a plan to move a US Marine base from a crowded city on the southern island of Okinawa to a more remote area was the only way of resolving the problems associated with the base, the ministry said. The plan is unpopular with islanders, most of whom want the base moved off the island entirely.

Mr Austin also spoke to his South Korean counterpart Suh Wook by phone, according to the South Korean Defence Ministry yesterday.

Mr Austin called the US-South Korea alliance a "linchpin" for peace and stability in North-east Asia, vowing to further develop the bilateral alliance.

BLOOMBERG