Obama reaffirms the commitment to defend Japan

There’s nothing like a casual meal to strengthen personal ties. And if this takes place in the tiny – but possessed three star Michelin restaurant sushi master Jiro Ono 88 years in Tokyo, the goal seems within reach. There they dined together on Wednesday night, no tie and a rare for the strict Japanese – Barack Obama protocol – something relaxed atmosphere and the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, at the start of the first state visit of a US president to Japan from Bill Clinton 18 years ago.

After the private dinner last night, Obama and Abe have been Thursday to work officially. They have met in the Akasaka Palace to celebrate one of the most important meetings of the eight days of Obama’s Asian tour, the bilateral summit between Japan and the United States. The summit concluded with the statement by President Obama to reaffirm Washington ‘s clear commitment to the defense of the islands called Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea that are disputed these two countries. Thus, the Japanese Prime Minister has managed to send a strong symbolic message to Beijing.

“Article 5 (the security treaty between the U.S. and Japan) includes all the territories under the administration of Japan, including the Senkaku Islands “, said Obama. “I do not take sides on the determination of the ultimate sovereignty of the Senkaku, but historically have been administered by Japan, and we do not have to undergo a unilateral change,” said the American president, who has insisted that “this is not a new position” and has asked that any disputes in the region is resolved through dialogue. Obama chose his words carefully. For Washington, it is a fine line between Tokyo and its important relationship with Beijing.

“My business is my deep conviction that a strong relationship between the U.S. and Japan is not only good for our country but for the world,” Obama had said before the start of the summit. Abe said that the alliance of the two countries is “indispensable and irreplaceable “.

The security treaty with Japan requires US to come to Japan’s defense in case of attack, but Abe wanted Obama explicitly reaffirmed this commitment. Obama had already done otherwise in an interview with the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri pre-trip, in which reapeated that same position what he said today: that the treaty included the disputed islands and opposes any unilateral attempt to modify the administration of these islands. “Our interaction with China does not occur or will occur at the expense of Japan or some other ally,” Obama said in the newspaper.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has responded quickly to the statements by Obama. ” The treaty called US-Japan Security is a product of the cold war and can not be directed against a third party or be damaging China ‘s territorial sovereignty,” said his spokesman Qin Gang in Beijing, reports Reuters. “No matter what you say or do whatever, you can not change the basic reality that the Diaoyu islands are Chinese intrinsic territory and can not weaken the resolve of the Government and people of China to protect our sovereignty and our maritime rights.”

Japan has taken steps to strengthen the role of its Self-Defense Forces to protect their territory. Abe, who became the head of government in December 2012, Japan has decided to provide a stronger army to deal, in particular, to the territorial tensions with China and the North Korean threat. It has increased the defense budget and will move troops in the north to the islands in the southwest and create the first unit of frog in Japan to respond quickly in case of foreign invasion of the islands. It will also deploy radars and missile defense systems in sensitive areas. ” (This change in defense policy) is an extension of our political scheme. We relaxed too the defense of the islands in the south. We can not continue to rely entirely on the United States because it is experiencing a decline in its defense budget, “says Yoshinori Saeki, Secretary of the Institute for Peace and Security in Tokyo.

In addition to reaffirming its commitment to defend Japan, another priority of the three-day trip to Japan is Obama promoting negotiations on the Strategic Agreement Trans -Pacific Economic Partnership (TPP its acronym in English), a trade pact between 12 countries, which is China, which is stagnant.

There have been great achievements in this regard today. Obama has acknowledged that differences persist, and says that “now is the time to take bold steps.” Among the difficulties faced by the TPP, include bilateral negotiations in Washington and Tokyo, which have deep differences on tariff rates for the automotive and agricultural markets. A bilateral agreement between Washington and Tokyo is crucial to boost the general TPP pact, considered a key component of U.S. military policy of economic downturn, and diplomat to Asia – Pacific.

The U.S. president has begun the day with a meeting with Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace, located in a lush green park surrounded by modern skyscrapers in the center of the capital. At the meeting, Obama discussed the emperor that the last time they saw had no gray hair, what Akihito replied: “You have a very tough job.” Obama is feted tonight with a state dinner at the Imperial Palace.

Tokyo is the first stage of the expected tour Obama to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines, which try to convince its Asian that compromise security and economic U.S. with regional partners, at a time of rising tensions China and North Korean threats, remains paramount for Washington despite the complicated international situation – Sira, Iran and most recently has prevented Ukraine – USA tilt attention to the Asia -Pacific region with the expected intensity.

While Obama will not visit China on this trip, references to the economic, diplomatic and military power will be present at the talks with the various Asian leaders. Washington has said that Obama ‘s tour and the shift to Asia are not aimed at countering the rising influence of China, and has insisted that the president does not look that Asian countries to choose between Washington and Beijing. But few doubt that the rapid rise of China is one of the main reasons for the new U.S. Asian policy. Nor doubt the Chinese government.

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Posted by Jamshed Sindhu on Apr 25 2014. Filed under World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.