US would side with Japan in clash over Diaoyus, says Pentagon chief
Defence secretary confirms in visit to Tokyo that treaty extends to defending disputed islands
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis reassured Japanese leaders on Friday that US President Donald Trump is fully committed to defending Japan as a treaty partner.
Mattis, the first member of Trump’s cabinet to visit Japan, also confirmed that Washington’s defence commitment extended to the contested Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, known as the Diaoyus in China. This was an apparent relief to Tokyo, which has been concerned about the shape of the alliance under Trump.
“I want there to be no misunderstanding during the transition in Washington that we stand firmly, 100 per cent shoulder to shoulder with you and the Japanese people,” Mattis told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.
“I wanted to make certain that Article Five of our mutual defence treaty is understood to be as real to us today as it was a year ago, five years ago and it will be a year and 10 years from now.”
Under Article Five of the treaty between the US and Japan, any attack against either country in the territories under Japan’s administration would be confronted by both countries.