WASHINGTON, Jan 21 — US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed deterrence in the Asia-Pacific region and a “united” Western alliance against Russian threats to Ukraine in a virtual meeting today, officials said.
Biden has made restoring the importance of the US-Japanese relationship a priority since taking office exactly a year ago, following Donald Trump’s questioning of the benefit of US relationships with several major allies in both Asia and Europe.
After the approximately one hour and 20 minutes meeting, which took place by video link behind closed doors, Biden tweeted that it was “an honor to meet with Prime Minister Kishida to further strengthen the US-Japan Alliance — the cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and around the world.”
Ahead of the virtual bilat, US officials stressed the goal of reinforcing an alliance that has underpinned US leadership across the entire region since World War II.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said yesterday that Biden and Kishida were discussing economic ties, as well as security and the “free and open Indo-Pacific” — a reference to the drive to maintain the status quo in the Asia-Pacific region, despite rapidly expanding Chinese military and commercial power, including along crucial sea trade routes.
According to a senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Biden and Kishida were discussing climate change, Covid-19 and cybersecurity. They were also focusing on maintaining “a strong rules-based order” — language that typically means pushing back on China.
Multilateral alliances
Another security challenge at the top of the two leaders’ agenda is North Korea, which has had a busy schedule of missile test launches this year — in contravention of UN sanctions — and yesterday suggested it could even resume nuclear and intercontinental missile tests.
The official noted Biden’s favoring of multilateral alliances, in contrast to Trump’s attempt to rebrand US foreign policy as a series of bilateral relationships with countries that he considered competitors as much as allies.
The US official highlighted the roles of the Quad group — Australia, India, Japan and the United States — and the trilateral security relationship between the United States, Japan and South Korea, which the official credited for “bolstering deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.”
Underlining soaring tensions around Russia’s build-up of a large military force on Ukraine’s border, the US official said Biden and Kishida would “discuss a strong, united response that would result from further Russian aggression towards Ukraine.”
Washington is seeking support from European and other allies for “severe” economic sanctions against Moscow if troops do attack Ukraine.
Biden hosted then-Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga as his first foreign leader at the White House, and after Kishida took office, Biden was the first foreign leader to place a call. — AFP
