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‘Japan is back,’ prime minister
declares in US
By William Lowther / Staff reporter in WASHINGTON
Japan`s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
participates in a media conference at a Washington hotel on Friday.
Photo: Reuters
Japanese national flags flutter
during a rally denouncing China organized by a nationalist group in Tokyo on
Saturday.
Photo: AFP
Declaring that “Japan is back,” Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met US President Barack Obama on Friday for
closed-door White House meetings on security affairs and the economy.
The sessions could have great significance for Taiwan and its claims to the
Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). While few details were revealed, the meetings appeared
to go well for Japan, with the US seeming to confirm its support for Tokyo in
the event of a military clash with Beijing over the islands.
Taiwan has asked for a special briefing on the meetings and an Obama
administration source said that such a briefing was possible.
If that happens over the next few days, the briefing is likely to be given to
the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office by US National Security
Council Senior Director for Asia Daniel Russel.
Taiwan, China and Japan all claim sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands — known
in Japan as the Senkakus — leading to an increasingly dangerous situation in the
East China Sea.
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) called on Friday for “peace and
stability” in the region and said an initiative proposed by President Ma Ying-jeou
(馬英九) was aimed at promoting dialogue.
Following his meetings, Abe sounded confident and buoyant. In a speech at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, he said that he
was increasing Japan’s budget for homeland defense.
“I will bring back a strong Japan, strong enough to do even more good for the
betterment of the world,” he said.
He said that history and international law “both attest” that the islands were
Japan’s sovereign territory.
However, Japan must stay strong, he said, repeating that he would increase the
Japanese Ministry of Defense’s budget. During his speech — titled “Japan is
Back” — Abe kept repeating the theme.
“I am back, and so shall Japan be,” he said in the opening to the speech.
In concluding his speech, he reiterated: “Japan is back. Keep counting on my
country.”
Asked what he wanted from the US on the Senkakus issue, Abe said in an obvious
reference to China: “It is important that we do not tolerate people’s actions
when they try to alter the ‘status quo’ based on force.”
Speaking through an interpreter, Abe said: “On the Senkakus issue, our intention
is not to ask the US to do this or that or to say this or that. We intend to
protect our territory. The Senkaku Islands are inherently Japanese territory and
we intend to continue to protect our own territory well into the future. At the
same time, our intention is to deal with this issue in a reserved manner.”
Following his first meeting with Abe — held in the morning — Obama said they had
“close consultations” on a wide range of security issues, including North Korea
and its recent nuclear test.
The second meeting concentrated on economic issues.
Abe said during a short interview in the Oval Office: “I can declare with
confidence that the trust and the bond in our alliance is back.”
He said the security environment in the Asia-Pacific was becoming increasingly
difficult and a “new order” was needed based on cooperation between the US and
Japan to “secure the freedom of the seas and to secure a region that is governed
based on laws, not on force.”
Abe said Japan would act calmly over the Senkakus issue and that the US and that
Japan had agreed to stay “in close coordination” with each other.
“I explained that we have always been dealing with this issue in a calm manner
and we will continue to do so,” he said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the White House meetings had been
“excellent.”
He said that almost every topic with respect to Japanese-US relations had been
discussed.
“Everybody has been aware of tensions around the Senkaku Islands and I want to
compliment Japan on the restraint that it has shown, its efforts to try to make
sure this does not flare up into a significant confrontation,” Kerry said.
He said the US alliance with Japan was strong, security commitments were real
and the US would stand behind them.
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