Biden, Japan leader Kishida announce stronger defence ties in state visit
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2024 6:48 pm
Biden, Japan leader Kishida announce stronger defence ties in state visit
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/1 ... tate-visit
United States President Joe Biden has welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House, with an upgrade in defence ties topping the agenda.
The meeting is only the fifth official state visit of Biden’s presidency, with the lavish events typically reserved for only the most formidable of US allies.
Moreover, the visits underscore an administration’s strategic priorities, with three of the four previous state dinners – South Korea, India and Australia – emphasising the Indo-Pacific region to counter what US officials describe as China’s increased military and economic assertiveness.
Beijing also loomed large on Wednesday, in a visit that began with Biden welcoming Kishida on the South Lawn of the White House. Biden hailed the “unbreakable” partnership between Japan and the US as “a cornerstone of peace, security, prosperity, in the Indo-Pacific and around the world”.
Kishida referenced the iconic cherry blossom trees that typically bloom in Washington, DC in spring, and were first gifted to the US by Japan in 1912.
“I am confident that the cherry blossom-like bond of the Japan-US alliance will continue to grow even thicker and stronger in the Indo-Pacific and in all corners of the world,” Kishida said.
The two men went on to discuss as many as 70 cooperation agreements in defence, space and technology during a meeting in the oval office, according to officials who previewed the event.
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/1 ... tate-visit
United States President Joe Biden has welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House, with an upgrade in defence ties topping the agenda.
The meeting is only the fifth official state visit of Biden’s presidency, with the lavish events typically reserved for only the most formidable of US allies.
Moreover, the visits underscore an administration’s strategic priorities, with three of the four previous state dinners – South Korea, India and Australia – emphasising the Indo-Pacific region to counter what US officials describe as China’s increased military and economic assertiveness.
Beijing also loomed large on Wednesday, in a visit that began with Biden welcoming Kishida on the South Lawn of the White House. Biden hailed the “unbreakable” partnership between Japan and the US as “a cornerstone of peace, security, prosperity, in the Indo-Pacific and around the world”.
Kishida referenced the iconic cherry blossom trees that typically bloom in Washington, DC in spring, and were first gifted to the US by Japan in 1912.
“I am confident that the cherry blossom-like bond of the Japan-US alliance will continue to grow even thicker and stronger in the Indo-Pacific and in all corners of the world,” Kishida said.
The two men went on to discuss as many as 70 cooperation agreements in defence, space and technology during a meeting in the oval office, according to officials who previewed the event.