US and Japan warn against China’s ‘coercion and destabilising behaviour’

The United States and Japan warned China against “coercion and aggression” on Tuesday after their defence and foreign ministers met in Tokyo, on the first overseas visit by members of President Joe Biden’s cabinet.

In a joint statement, the ministers said that “the United States and Japan acknowledged that China’s behaviour, where inconsistent with the existing international order, presents political, economic, military and technological challenges”. They added that they were “committed to opposing coercion and destabilising behaviour towards others in the region”.

Later at a joint press conference, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cited China’s “coercion and aggression to systematically erode autonomy in Hong Kong, undercut democracy in Taiwan, abuse human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, and assert maritime claims in the South China Sea that violate international law.” 

The meeting between the four men follows a virtual summit last week of the leaders of the US, Japan, Australia and India – the so-called Quad alliance of democracies that is aimed at countering China’s rising influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Both events are seen by analysts as part of a wider push by the Biden administration to shore up Washington’s alliances in the region and are likely to raise the temperature ahead of a key US-China meeting in Alaska on Thursday.