(VOVworld) – US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter says Australia and the US want to renew an Asia-Pacific regional security architecture.

L-R: Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter pose prior to a meeting on October 13, 2015, in Boston (Photo: AFP)

Secretary Carter and Secretary of State John Kerry met with Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in Boston on Tuesday. Mr Carter said the US will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, and the East Sea is not and will not be an exception. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Washington and Canberra were “on the same page” in the East Sea, saying that they are not taking sides on the various territorial claims, but do urge all parties not to act unilaterally, and not to act in a way that would escalate tensions. Bishop expressed support for “the principles of freedom of navigation and freedom of over-flight.”