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Facing challenges posed by an increasingly hostile China, the United States and Japan will further integrate their military and announce new technology and defense agreements on Wednesday as President Biden welcomes Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s state visit to Washington. It is expected that this will happen.
The meeting is part of the Biden administration’s diplomatic efforts to counter China, including recent war games with South Korea. On Thursday, Mr. Biden and Mr. Kishida will meet with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines, another Pacific island nation targeted by China’s growing military presence in the South China Sea.
The Biden administration is demonstrating the importance of its relationship with Japan by hosting an official state dinner limited to America’s closest allies Wednesday night in Kishida’s honor.
During the one-day meeting, the two leaders are expected to announce new plans to counter China’s far-reaching ambitions. Biden has described China as “the only global rival to the United States with the intention of reshaping the international order.” It has increasing economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to advance its objectives. ”
The concerns come amid tensions in Washington and Tokyo over the possible return to power of former President Donald J. Trump, whose unpredictable foreign policy has worried many world leaders. It is something. Officials say one of Biden’s goals is to make relations with Japan as lasting as possible before the November election.
One administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss future talks, said there was “anxiety in capitals” around the world, including in Tokyo, about whether Trump would continue the international engagement that Biden and previous presidents have undertaken. Stated. I was hugged. Another official said there was a real risk that if Trump were elected, the leaders of both countries could move to reverse what they announced on Wednesday.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Kishida are expected to outline increased cooperation and integration between the two countries’ militaries, including the establishment of a joint defense council to help expand defense-related exports of equipment produced in Japan. And officials said they will announce new collaborations on space ventures and collaborations between research institutions working on AI, semiconductors and clean energy.
“The United States’ alliance system has helped bring peace and stability to the Indo-Pacific for decades, and now we are bringing that alliance network into the modern era,” said Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser. We need to update and upgrade accordingly.” “It’s much more than security. It’s economics. It’s technology. It’s infrastructure. And it’s diplomacy. And it’s all going to be clear in the meeting with the prime minister.”
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel called the meeting “the first chapter of the next era of cooperation as the two countries move beyond U.S. efforts to protect Japan and work together to demonstrate strength throughout the region.” “It’s an opportunity.” .
It would be a far-reaching relationship than the United States has historically had with Japan, which has limited defense spending and global engagement for decades.
That has begun to change in recent years under Mr. Kishida, who pushed for increased defense spending and participation in global initiatives such as sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Administration officials said Japan’s renewed desire to become a full partner of the United States on the world stage has taken the alliance between the two countries to a new level.
Thursday’s meeting between Biden, Kishida and Marcos signals more aggressive efforts by the United States and its allies to isolate China, rather than allowing the Chinese leadership to intimidate and isolate the South China Sea and its neighbors. represents. elsewhere.
Thursday’s meeting will be the first time the leaders of the three countries will meet together, officials said.
Sullivan told reporters at a White House briefing: “We’re going to do what we’ve said many times on this platform and elsewhere: to ensure a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific. We continue to deepen our cooperation with our closest partners.” Tuesday’s house.
Sullivan declined to say whether Biden would raise with Kishida the issue of Japanese company Nippon Steel’s plan to buy struggling Pittsburgh-based manufacturer U.S. Steel. Biden has publicly said he would have the “support” of the steelworkers union, signaling his opposition to the deal.
“You all know Joe Biden,” he said. “You’ve seen Joe Biden. He’s made it very clear that he’s going to stand up for American workers. He’s going to protect your interests. He’s also going to stand up for the American worker. “We’ve made it very clear that we intend to make the U.S. alliance the strongest it’s ever been.”
However, administration officials said late Tuesday that they did not expect the issue to be raised between the two leaders on Wednesday because they already knew the other’s position.
Mr. Biden briefly arrived at the White House Tuesday night and greeted Mr. Kishida. The two leaders and their wives then headed out to Black Salt, an upscale seafood restaurant in Washington, for a more casual dinner before Wednesday’s formal event.
The day begins with a welcome ceremony on the South Lawn. The event will conclude with a lavish state dinner at the White House, where Mr. Biden will treat Mr. Kishida to meals such as homemade cured salmon and dry-aged ribeye steak with shishito pepper butter.
White House officials said the couple exchanged a series of gifts Tuesday night, a diplomatic tradition at such events. The official gift from Mr. Biden and first lady Jill Biden was a three-legged table handmade by a Japanese-American business in Pennsylvania.
Other gifts included a Billy Joel autographed lithograph, a two-volume LP set, and a vintage vinyl record collection. Mr. Biden presented Mr. Kishida with a framed picture of the Yoshino cherry tree that the two had planted on the south lawn last spring, as well as a soccer ball signed by the U.S. women’s national soccer team and the Japan women’s national soccer team.
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