Japan's PM Shinzo Abe fails to win Obama's support in Diaoyus row
While Abe kept up his hardline comments about Japan's territorial dispute with China, he avoided disagreement with Obama during their talks on Friday. The Japanese leader declared that both nations would exert pressure on North Korea over its nuclear tests and continue talks about Japan's "possible interest" in joining a trade pact initiated by Washington.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe failed to get US President Barack Obama to take a tough stand against Beijing during their meeting in Washington, to the relief of Chinese observers.
While Abe kept up his hardline comments about Japan's territorial dispute with China, he avoided disagreement with Obama during their talks on Friday. The Japanese leader declared that both nations would exert pressure on North Korea over its nuclear tests and continue talks about Japan's "possible interest" in joining a trade pact initiated by Washington.
While Obama told Abe, "You can rest assured that you will have a strong partner in the United States through your tenure", the president did not address the territorial dispute.
Jin Canrong , a professor of international relations at Renmin University, said the US backing of Abe was less enthusiastic than Tokyo had hoped.
"The outcome of the talks between Abe and Obama was vague without any concrete promises from Washington," Jin said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, in a separate meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, "complimented" Japan on its restraint amid the dispute over the Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan.