(MENAFN) U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed comprehensive backing for Japan and its new leader, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, as both nations strengthen their partnership in the face of growing competition with China in the Indo-Pacific.

During his visit to Tokyo on Tuesday, Trump praised Japan as “an ally at the strongest level,” highlighting plans for Tokyo to purchase “a large amount of new military equipment” and predicting that relations between the two countries would become “stronger than ever before.”

“I want to just let you know – any time you have any question, any doubt, anything you want, any favors you need, anything I can do to help Japan, we will be there,” Trump said.

Takaichi, who took office last week, thanked Trump for his efforts to mediate tensions between Thailand and Cambodia and commended his “unwavering commitment to peace and stability” in the region.

During the visit, both leaders signed an agreement to cooperate on the production and supply of rare-earth and critical minerals, as well as a declaration to pursue “a new golden age” in U.S.-Japan relations. The accord follows a similar deal Washington recently reached with Australia aimed at countering China’s influence in the global rare-earth market.

Japan, which has hosted U.S. military forces since the end of World War II, remains one of the largest importers of American defense equipment. In recent years, Tokyo has expanded its defense spending and equipped its navy with long-range cruise missiles as part of its security modernization efforts.

The U.S., Japan, and South Korea continue to hold regular joint naval exercises in the region — operations that have been sharply criticized by both China and North Korea, who consider them provocative and destabilizing.

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