Japan PM visit aimed at jointly countering China
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan announced a range of moves Wednesday to further enhance military, economic and other cooperation between the two longtime allies as part of the president’s efforts to counter China’s aggressive actions in the Indo-Pacific region.
During a pomp-filled state visit honoring the visiting Japanese prime minister, the president said the United States and Japan would create an expanded defense architecture with Australia, participate in three-way military exercises with Britain and explore ways for Japan to join a U.S.-led coalition with Australia and New Zealand.
Biden also announced the United States would take a Japanese astronaut to the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program, which would be the first time a non-American has set foot on the moon.
“This is the most significant upgrade of our alliance since it was first established,” Biden said at a news conference in the Rose Garden along with the prime minister.
Kishida made a point of reaffirming Japan’s “strong support for Ukraine” in its war against Russia, a key priority for Biden, and framed the European conflict in terms of the precedent it could set in Japan’s neighborhood. “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow,” Kishida said.
The prime minister’s visit comes at the same time Biden is strengthening the U.S. partnership with the Philippines, which also finds itself the target of a mounting Chinese military presence in the South China Sea. On Thursday, Biden and Kishida will meet with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines to demonstrate their joint commitment.
The day began with a welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn, where Biden hailed the relationship between the United States and Japan as a “cornerstone of peace, security, prosperity” and said President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s promise of an “indestructible partnership” had been achieved.
The Biden administration also signaled the importance of its relationship with Tokyo by holding an official state dinner Wednesday evening in honor of Kishida, something reserved for America’s closest allies.