Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and visiting Mongolian President U.Khurelsukh affirmed on Tuesday that their countries will never tolerate the use of force to change the status quo, with China and Russia, which border Mongolia, in mind.

This was included in a joint statement issued after the two leaders held talks at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo.

At a joint press conference following the meeting, Kishida said Japan will work to strengthen its cooperation with Mongolia to resolve global challenges.

The president voiced hope to expand and deepen bilateral cooperation to contribute to regional peace and prosperity.

In the statement, the two leaders vowed to strengthen cooperation between Japan and Mongolia in the security field, while promoting Japanese investments in Mongolia and working on exploring rare earths in Mongolia.