US President Biden meets with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida
U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese President Fumio Kishida pledged by video conference to boost cooperation between the two countries amid growing security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region.
US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida spoke via video conference. The virtual meeting, which lasted about an hour and a half, focused on growing security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region and Russia-Ukraine tensions. They agreed to boost cooperation on “urgent economic and security” issues, including China’s growing power, North Korea’s missile tests and Russia’s targets in Ukraine.
After the meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida said they agreed to cooperate with the United States to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific, to work closely on the missile issue in China and North Korea, as well as to cooperate on
Ukraine.
Kishida also announced that Japan-U.S. has agreed to establish an economic version of the “2 plus 2” meetings at the ministerial level to promote economic cooperation, while Japan will host a group of four meetings in the first half of this year, attended by leaders from the United States, Australia and
India.
Biden said after the meeting that he was honored to meet with Prime Minister Kishida to further strengthen
the U.S.-Japan alliance, the cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and around the world.
The White House said before the meeting that Kishida and Biden would discuss economic and security issues, emerging technology, cybersecurity, climate change and other bilateral
issues.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that the United States aims to establish “common goals” for economic cooperation with Indo-Pacific countries in early 2022, adding that its goal is to “further strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance” and ensure a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Biden and Kishida are developing a strategy to boost relations between the two countries because of china’s attempts to establish sovereignty over Taiwan and security concerns over North Korea’s missile
tests. Kishida appeared this week to strengthen Japan’s defenses of islands near Taiwan as China tries to establish sovereignty in Taiwan.
