President Biden and Prime Minister Kan leave a joint press conference in the White House Rose Garden. (April 16, 2021)
U.S. President Joe Biden says he and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga are committed to working together to counter challenges from the Chinese Communist Party and North Korea. Kan’s visit was the first summit at the White House since Biden took office.
Biden and Kan held a joint press conference in the White House Rose Garden on Friday (April 16) following the day-long U.S.-Japan summit. Speaking to reporters, Biden said the two leaders reaffirmed their “ironclad support for the U.S.-Japan alliance. He said, “We are committed to working together to address the challenges from the Chinese Communist Party, the East and South China Seas and North Korea to ensure a free and open future for the Indo-Pacific region.”
President Biden said their discussions were “productive” and said the U.S. and Japan also agreed to work together to support global efforts to vaccinate against the Chinese Communist Party virus and to promote new global technology development, including 5G networks, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
We also had serious discussions about the impact of the Chinese Communist Party on peace and prosperity in the Pacific region and around the world,” Kan said of the U.S.-Japan summit. We agreed to oppose any attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East and South China Seas, and to intimidate others in this region. At the same time we agreed on the need for us each to engage in frank dialogue with the Chinese Communist Party and in doing so seek stability in international relations while preserving universal values.”
In a press conference following the White House meeting between President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on June 16, Suga was asked if the two sides had discussed peace and stability in Taiwan and human rights in Xinjiang, and if he had explained to President Biden why Japan was the only G-7 country that had not imposed sanctions on the Chinese Communist Party. Suga said the two sides discussed the situation in Taiwan and human rights in Xinjiang, but he did not provide details.
In response to questions from reporters, Suga said the two leaders discussed Taiwan and said they reaffirmed the importance of “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait. He said he would not disclose further details of the discussion on Taiwan.
Kan said he told Biden that he was committed to continuing to push for plans to hold the Summer Olympics in Tokyo despite the Communist virus outbreak. He said Biden expressed support.
Suga is the first foreign leader Biden has met face-to-face with since he became U.S. president in January.
Speaking to reporters at the White House before the talks began, Biden said he was “really pleased to welcome such a close ally and good partner.
Suga said he appreciated the opportunity to hold the meeting and reaffirmed the “new close ties” between Japan and the United States.
Biden, who took office in January, has focused on reinvigorating U.S. alliances and U.S. involvement in multilateral institutions. Former President Trump often criticized or avoided these multilateral mechanisms.
The meeting underscored the importance of alliance ties. Currently, the U.S. and Japan’s common adversary, the Communist Party of China, is growing in strength and becoming increasingly aggressive.
Explaining his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan earlier this week, Biden said, “We must consolidate U.S. competitiveness against tough competition from an increasingly assertive Chinese Communist Party.”
Japan recently joined the U.S. and other democracies in publicly criticizing the Chinese Communist Party for human rights abuses and incursions into disputed waters in the East and South China Seas, in what is seen as a departure from Japan’s long-held position centered on trade and commerce. China is Japan’s largest trading partner.
Sheila Smith, a senior fellow at the Institute of Foreign Relations, told Voice of America that the U.S. and Japan want to form a united front on the Communist Party, but “both governments understand that this is a delicate moment when it comes to relations with the Communist Party. They don’t want to incite or provoke behavior that they don’t want.”
Koji Tomita, Japan’s ambassador to the United States, told VOA this week that Japan is “encouraged” by Biden’s active engagement with the Indo-Pacific region. He referred to a quadripartite meeting Biden hosted by webcam last month. The meeting was attended by the leaders of Japan, Australia and India.
“The international order is being challenged in different ways, so we want to continue to have concrete discussions about the ways in which Japan and the United States can act to achieve our common vision.”
Prior to Kan’s meeting with Biden, the Chinese Communist Party’s Foreign Ministry warned Japan not to be misled by some countries that hold a bias against China.
Earlier this month, the Chinese Communist Party also sent a naval battle group to nearby Okinawa, where the United States has a military presence, a signal that Beijing is ready to counter the U.S.-Japan alliance.
The United States has about 55,000 troops stationed in Japan. The two countries often describe their alliance as a “cornerstone” of peace and stability in Asia.
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