During a joint press conference following a meeting with Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera at the Pentagon, Hagel said the United States remains steadfast in their defense commitments to Japan, including extended deterrence and a further nuclear umbrella. The two defense ministers agreed to continue close cooperation between the two countries as well as in a trilateral framework involving South Korea. On the dispute between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands, Hagel said the United States does not take a position on the overall sovereignty of the islands but do recognize they are under the administration of Japan and fall under their security treaty allocations.