Yoshihide Suga and Joe Biden to strengthen US-Japan alliance, with eye on China
- The Japanese PM is looking to visit the United States as soon as possible, he told reporters after a call with the US president
- The two sides also reconfirmed that the US-Japan security treaty applied to a group of Japan-controlled East China Sea islets that Beijing claims
They also agreed to arrange a US visit for Suga as early as possible, the Japanese leader told reporters.
The White House said the two affirmed the importance of the US-Japan alliance “as the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in a free and open Indo-Pacific”.
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Biden reaffirmed too the US’ commitment to provide “extended deterrence” to Japan, a reference to the US nuclear umbrella covering Japan, the White House said in a statement.
“We managed to have substantial exchanges,” Suga said. “We agreed to strengthen our alliance firmly by having more phone calls like this.”
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Blinken also stressed the need for continued trilateral cooperation among the allies.
Ties between Washington and its two key Northeast Asian allies were bruised under former president Donald Trump, who demanded that both pay more for US troops there and raised questions about their future presence. Biden has said rebuilding relations with allies will be a key priority.