Japan-US alliance 'stronger than ever'
In an apparent move to play down Washington's reignited security treaty criticism and to highlight the stable relationship between Japan and the United States, Tokyo said on Friday that their alliance "is stronger than ever".
"US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed that the security alliance between the world's largest and third-largest economies is stronger than ever," said Takeshi Osuga, Japan's foreign press secretary, after the two leaders ended a 45-minitute meeting before the opening of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
He added that the postwar defense pact was "not mentioned at all during the meeting".
At the beginning of the dialogue, Abe stressed that his many meetings with the US president in a short period of time were "evidence of an unwavering alliance" and said Trump's visit in May as Japan's first state guest in its new era of Reiwa was "a historic event".
However, Trump appeared to largely focus on trade.
"We're going to be talking about many things and we're also going to be talking about a lot of trade. I appreciate the fact that you're sending many automobile companies into Michigan, and Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and North Carolina - a lot of our states," Trump said.
"We'll be discussing the purchase of a lot of military equipment by Japan, and we appreciate that."
Ahead of Trump's departure for Osaka, media reported that the US president was considering terminating the defense pact with Japan as it was "unfair".
In an interview with Fox television in Washington on Wednesday, Trump said: "If Japan is attacked, we will fight World War III. ... We will go in and we will protect them and we will fight with our lives and with our treasure. We will fight at all costs, right? But if we're attacked, Japan doesn't have to help us at all. They can watch it on a Sony television, the attack."
But observers say ending the pact is not likely.
Dai Erbiao, vice-president of Asian Growth Research Institute in Fukuoka, Japan, said what Trump said is another bluff to gain a negotiation advantage over Japan in subsequent talks.
"Over the years, US had invested a lot in the security deal with Japan, it is impossible for Washington to waste that investment," Dai said.
"Terminating the pact is impossible because Japan's geopolitical position in Asia is irreplaceable in US global strategy," said Yu Qiang, a researcher at the University of International Relations in Beijing.
wangxu@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 06/29/2019 page8)
