New Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “strongly condemned” Beijing’s decision to lob five ballistic missiles into Japan’s claimed exclusive economic zone, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry, with the pair vowing “seamless” cooperation, including at the ministerial level, in responding to challenges.

In Tuesday’s call, Hamada and Austin also stressed the importance of trilateral defense cooperation with South Korea amid the growing nuclear and missile threat from North Korea. In a sign of bolstered security ties, earlier this month the three countries held their first missile defense drills in nearly five years, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.