US and Japan To Pressure China

Web Desk — US President Joe Biden and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida agreed on Friday to “pressure” China and condemn North Korea’s missile tests, while Biden reinforced the US commitment to defending Japan.

In a video meeting lasting about one hour and 20 minutes, Biden also agreed to visit Japan in the first half of this year for a summit of the Quad, which includes Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.

Many of the points discussed concerned the growing strategic challenge from China, which has spooked the region with saber-rattling near Taiwan, which considers itself independent but Beijing claims as part of its territory to be retaken by force one day.

“The two leaders resolved to push back against the PRC’s attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea and the South China Sea,” and also “understood the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the White House said.

Biden and Kishida expressed concern about Chinese practices in Xinjiang – where the United States says China is committing genocide against the Uyghurs – and in Hong Kong.

In response to Japan and China’s dispute over the uninhabited but strategically located Senkaku Islands, Biden “affirmed the United States’ unwavering commitment to Japan’s security, using its full range of capabilities,” the readout said.