President Joe Biden of the United States and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Kishida of Japan have pledged to
President Joe Biden of the United States and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Kishida of Japan have pledged to "push back" against China
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Washington : In a virtual meeting on Friday, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to “push back” against China and condemned North Korea’s missile tests, while Biden reaffirmed the US commitment to Japan’s defence.

Biden also committed to visit Japan in late spring this year for an official visit and Quad summit, which includes Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, during a video meeting that lasted around one hour and 20 minutes, according to a senior US official.

Since taking office exactly a year ago, Biden has made restoring the importance of the US-Japanese relationship a top goal, following his predecessor Donald Trump’s dismissive attitude toward even long-standing US alliances in Asia and Europe.

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Following the closed-door meeting, Biden tweeted that it was “an honour to meet with Prime Minister Kishida to further deepen the US-Japan Alliance — the cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and around the world.”

Much of the conversation focused on China’s growing strategic threat, which has alarmed the region by rattling its sabres near Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory and threatens to recapture by force if necessary.

Biden and Kishida, according to the US official, were concerned about China’s “intimidation” of its neighbours.

The two presidents “agreed to push back against the People’s Republic of China (PRCattempts )’s to disrupt the status quo in the East China Sea and South China Sea,” according to an official White House readout. They also “understood the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

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Biden and Kishida expressed “alarm” about Chinese “practises” in Xinjiang region and Hong Kong, where the US claims China is conducting genocide against the Uyghurs.

Biden “affirmed the United States’ unflinching commitment to the defence of Japan, employing its entire spectrum of capabilities,” according to the readout, in reference to Japan’s dispute with China over the uninhabited but strategically located Senkaku Islands.

– Tensions between North Korea and Ukraine –

North Korea, which has had a busy schedule of missile test launches this year — in violation of UN sanctions — and suggested on Thursday that it could potentially resume nuclear and intercontinental missile testing, was another security concern at the top of the agenda.

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The White House stated the two leaders “condemned recent ballistic missile launches,” while a Japanese summary of the meeting said they described North Korea’s actions as “a threat to Japan’s peace and security, the region, and the international community.”

Biden and Kishida said they were working “closely together to discourage Russian aggression,” referring to Russia’s build-up of a sizable military contingent on Ukraine’s border.

The White House claimed that “Prime Minister Kishida vowed to continue close coordination with the United States, other allies and partners, and the world community on taking firm measures in response to any attack.”

They “agreed to work closely together to discourage Russian aggression against Ukraine,” according to the briefing from Japan.

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Biden and Kishida discussed economic ties, as well as security and the “free and open Indo-Pacific,” according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. This is 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 critical sea trade routes.

Biden welcomed then-Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as his first foreign leader at the White House, and Biden was the first foreign leader to phone Kishida after he assumed office.

The meeting was described as “exceptionally broad, very cordial, and wide-ranging” by a senior US official, who added that it demonstrated the countries’ “solidarity.”

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