Biden, Japan's Kishida pledge united front versus China
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STORY: “Well Fumio, welcome back to the White House. Welcome back to the Oval Office. It’s good to have you here.”
U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House on Wednesday, as the two seek to showcase a strong and growing partnership focused on joint defense cooperation including a new missile defense system.
(BIDEN) "Together, our countries are taking significant steps to strengthen defense security cooperation. We're modernizing command and control structures and doing an increase in the interoperability and planning of our militaries as they can work together in a seamless and effective way."
The two leaders have their eye on China and Russia and were specifically asked about China during a joint news conference
(Kishida) "On challenges concerning China, including the point you raised on objecting to unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion, we concurred that Japan and the United States, as global partners, shall work in close coordination."
The U.S. and Japan along with Australia and Philippines held joint maritime exercises in the South China Sea Sunday ahead of this summit.
That’s an area Beijing claims but international law says belongs to the Philippines.
The leader of the Philippines is coming to Washington later this week to meet with Biden and Kishida.
The trans-Pacific diplomacy comes at a moment of tension with Beijing, which continues to assert claims over the self-governing island of Taiwan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou Wednesday that outside inference could not stop the "family reunion" between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
