Obama, Abe term US-Japan alliance cornerstone of security in Asia

Published April 29, 2015
Washington: President Barack Obama meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday.—AP
Washington: President Barack Obama meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday.—AP

WASHINGTON: The United States and Japan sought to reinvigorate their 70-year-old alliance in the face of China’s ever-increasing clout on Tuesday, as President Barack Obama welcomed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the White House.

Hailing the alliance as the “cornerstone of peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region”, the two countries vowed to counter new threats and increase military deterrence.

Take a look: US, Japan boost defence ties

They pledged to forge a Trans-Pacific trade deal that would encompass 12 countries and 40 per cent of the world economy and back a dramatically more assertive security role for long-pacifist Japan.

“Today the international order faces fresh challenges, ranging from violent extremism to cyber attacks,” a joint statement said.

“State actions undermine respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity by attempting to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion pose challenges to the international order,” the text said.

“Such threats put at risk much that we have built. We must and will adapt again, working in concert with other allies and partners.” The United States and Japan agreed to a new set of defence cooperation guidelines that would “reinforce deterrence” by allowing Japanese forces to come to the aid of US forces and “enable Japan to expand its contributions to regional and global security”.

It is a significant step for two countries that had been locked in a brutal war that ended with the first and only use of atomic bombs in combat history.

Amid Japan’s territorial disputes with China, Russia and North Korea, the US reiterated its pledge to come to Japan’s defence.

During the White House visit, Obama held Oval Office talks with Abe and offered a welcome normally reserved for royalty or heads of state, including a full arrival ceremony on the South Lawn and a luxurious state dinner on Tuesday evening.

On Monday, Obama took Abe on an unannounced tour of the Lincoln Memorial, riding together in Obama’s armoured limousine — “the beast” — to underscore their personal ties.

In the Oval Office, Obama and Abe were expected to also touch on sensitive trade issues.

“If we don’t write the rules, China will write the rules out in that region,” Obama told the Wall Street Journal ahead of the meeting.

China has increasingly been making its economic clout felt, pushing hard for the creation of an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to rival US-backed institutions.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

Opinion

Editorial

Energy inflation
Updated 23 May, 2024

Energy inflation

The widening gap between the haves and have-nots is already tearing apart Pakistan’s social fabric.
Culture of violence
23 May, 2024

Culture of violence

WHILE political differences are part of the democratic process, there can be no justification for such disagreements...
Flooding threats
23 May, 2024

Flooding threats

WITH temperatures in GB and KP forecasted to be four to six degrees higher than normal this week, the threat of...
Bulldozed bill
Updated 22 May, 2024

Bulldozed bill

Where once the party was championing the people and their voices, it is now devising new means to silence them.
Out of the abyss
22 May, 2024

Out of the abyss

ENFORCED disappearances remain a persistent blight on fundamental human rights in the country. Recent exchanges...
Holding Israel accountable
22 May, 2024

Holding Israel accountable

ALTHOUGH the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor wants arrest warrants to be issued for Israel’s prime...