Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US President Joe Biden agreed Wednesday on the importance of continuing to enhance the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. During their first phone talks since Ishiba took office on Tuesday, which lasted 15 minutes, the two leaders also vowed to work together on economic security cooperation, the ministry said in a statement. In addition, Ishiba and Biden agreed to further develop networks of like-minded countries, including Japan-US-Korea, Japan-US-Australia-India, and Japan-US-Philippines, according to the statement. Ishiba told Biden that strengthening the Japan-US alliance is a top priority of his administration's foreign and security policy and that he wishes to continue working closely together with the US as global partners at the core of a free and open international order. Ishiba also expressed his gratitude for Biden's strong commitment to the Japan-US alliance. Over the recent attack b y Iran against Israel, the two leaders expressed their serious concern about the potential escalation into a full-fledged war in the Middle East, and reaffirmed their strong condemnation of such escalation. Furthermore, Ishiba and Biden pledged to continue working closely on issues related to China, dealing with North Korea including on the nuclear and missile development programs, Japanese abductions by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, and the situation in Ukraine. Source: Kuwait News Agency