The United States and Japan have agreed to provide full support to South Korea amid heightened tensions between the two Koreas following North Korea’s sinking of the “Cheonan” naval ship.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said in a statement that U.S. Secretary Robert Gates and Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa met in Washington on Tuesday and “pledged unified support for South Korea” on the Cheonan incident.

Morrell added that the two officials also agreed to meet with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young in Singapore “on the margins of the June Shangri-La Security Conference.”

The three met for the first time at the Singapore conference a year ago.

Morrell also said that Gates and Kitazawa talked about the recent activities of the Chinese Navy and agreed to continue to cooperate and monitor Chinese actions in the region.