Abe, Obama to hold talks in Washington

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama are set to hold talks Tuesday in Washington, with the leaders expected to reaffirm a robust bilateral alliance through defense cooperation and trade, Japanese officials said.

Their summit will follow Monday's announcement of new bilateral defense cooperation guidelines, revised for the first time in 18 years, after the "two-plus-two" meeting of the foreign and defense chiefs of Japan and the United States in New York, according to Japan's (Kyodo) News Agency.

Meeting at the White House, Abe and Obama are likely to hail the release of the guidelines, which sets the roles and missions of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and U.S. military and expands the scope of SDF operations abroad. The updating of the guidelines comes amid China's growing assertiveness at sea and in the air.