TOKYO — Visiting U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sunday that Washington would deploy two more Aegis-equipped destroyers to
Japan by 2017 against threats from North Korean missiles.

Hagel's announcement came after Pyongyang test-fired two missiles into the waters east of the Korean Peninsula in late March, when the
leaders of Japan, the U.S. and South Korea criticized the North's nuclear weapons programme.

On Sunday, Hagel also welcomed Japan's decision last week to ease its arms-export controls for the first time in nearly 50 years.

Hagel and Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera agreed that their two nations oppose China's declaration of an air defence identification zone over the East China Sea.

The zone covers Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China and Taiwan, where they are called Diaoyu and
Tiaoyutai, respectively.

Aircraft flying into another country's defence identification zone are required to identify themselves and provide flight data.