Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya on Friday renewed Japan's pledge to strengthen its alliance with the United States under new President Donald Trump and to promote global cooperation by enhancing ties with other like-minded partners.

In a speech at the opening of the ordinary Diet session, Iwaya also emphasized Japan's commitment to pursuing "strategic and mutually beneficial" relations with China as the Asian neighbors seek to ease their persisting tensions over various issues.

"The Japan-U.S. alliance is the linchpin of our nation's foreign and security policies, and reinforcing it is a top priority" for the government of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, launched in early October, Iwaya said.

Trump, a Republican known for his skepticism toward multilateralism, returned to the White House earlier this week with a promise to reinstate the "America First" policies he implemented during his first four-year presidential term starting in 2017.

Iwaya underscored that Japan endeavors to elevate its cooperation with the United States to "new heights as a global partner," not only in the security field but also in the economic realm, by "building solid ties of trust with the Trump administration."

Citing the increasingly severe global security environment, with challenges like Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iwaya said Japan will prioritize collaboration with like-minded countries and emerging states in the "Global South" to uphold a "free and open Indo-Pacific."

The vision has been advocated by Japan and the United States as a counter to China's growing military and economic clout in the region, amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry that has triggered tit-for-tat tariffs and protectionism.

In recent years, the United States and its close security ally in Asia, Japan, have been bolstering trilateral security collaboration involving South Korea and the Philippines, as well as the four-way Quad grouping with Australia and India.

"We will achieve our nation's peace and regional stability and conduct diplomacy that guides the international community from division to cooperation," Iwaya said.

As for China, Iwaya said Tokyo and Beijing need to work together to make the bilateral relationship "constructive and stable," stressing that both countries share a "huge responsibility for the peace and prosperity of the region and the world."

Iwaya, meanwhile, expressed concern over China's "unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force" in the South and East China seas. The Senkaku Islands, administered by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing, are situated in the East China Sea.