Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

China concerns set stage for U.S.-Japan conference

- MARI YAMAGUCHI

In a move meant to signal his intention for the U.S. to return to more engagement in the Asia-Pacific region, Biden on Friday held a first, virtual summit of the leaders of Australia, Japan, India and the U.S. known as the “Quad” and emphasized Washington’s commitment to the region.

TOKYO — Shared concerns about China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region will take center stage when President Joe Biden’s defense chief and secretary of state visit Japan for their first in-person talks with their Japanese counterpar­ts.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tokyo on Monday for meetings meant to reaffirm America’s commitment to the region and to the two nations’ alliance following former President Donald Trump’s more confrontat­ional approach.

The two secretarie­s will hold so-called two-plustwo diplomatic and security talks today with their Japanese counterpar­ts, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi.

“The United States is now making a big push to revitalize our ties with friends and partners — both in one-toone relationsh­ips and in multilater­al institutio­ns — and to recommit to our shared goals, values, and responsibi­lities,” Blinken and Austin said in a piece published Monday in The Washington Post.

The U.S. and others share the values and principles of keeping an open Indo-Pacific region, but China is “all too willing to use coercion to get its way,” the two ministers said. “Here again, we see how working with our allies is critical.”

The U.S. will lead with diplomacy, maintain America’s military might “and renew our alliances and ensure they’re fit for purpose to address the threats and opportunit­ies of our time,” Blinken and Austin wrote. Together they can hold China accountabl­e for its human rights abuses and other problems in Xinjiang and Tibet as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan, they said.

Japan and the U.S. are also expected to reaffirm the importance of their threeway alliance with South Korea and may touch on the strained relations between Tokyo and Seoul over wartime compensati­on issues.

In a move meant to signal his intention for the U.S. to return to more engagement in the Asia-Pacific region, Biden on Friday held a first, virtual summit of the leaders of Australia, Japan, India and the U.S. known as the “Quad” and emphasized Washington’s commitment to the region.

Motegi said in a parliament­ary session Monday that he expected China to be the topic that he and Blinken focus on and that Japan being the first destinatio­n of their foreign travel signaled “the U.S. emphasis on the Japan-U.S. alliance.”

Motegi said he hoped to “show the rest of the world an unshakable unity” in the alliance and hoped to discuss how Japan and the U.S. can step up their deterrence and response capability in answer to China.

“Japan, together with the U.S., will resolutely respond to China’s unilateral attempt to change the status quo,” Motegi said. “But at the same time, China is the world’s No. 2 economy, and it is important to firmly encourage that country to act responsibl­y based on internatio­nal rules.”

Japan is in a delicate diplomatic situation because its economy, like those of other countries in the region, heavily depends on China.

But it also considers China’s growing presence in the region a security threat. Beijing has built militarize­d manmade islands in the South China Sea and is pressing its claim to virtually all of the sea’s key fisheries and waterways. Japan is concerned about China’s claim to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, called Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea and its increased activity in the disputed area.

China has denied it is expansioni­st and said it is only defending its territoria­l rights.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokespers­on Zhao Lijian said Monday that concerns about Chinese influence were rooted in “outdated Cold War mentality and ideologica­l prejudices.”

“For some time, individual countries have been eager to hype and incite the so-called China challenge and drive a wedge between regional countries, especially with China,” Zhao said at a daily briefing. “But what they are doing … is not welcome and will never succeed.”

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