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US President Joe Biden and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shared their concern over China's coercive and destabilising activities in the Indo-Pacific region during their bilateral meeting in Wimington ahead of the Quad Leaders Summit.
"The leaders discussed their respective diplomacy with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and their shared concerns about the PRC's coercive and destabilising activities, including in the South China Sea," read the White House press release. President Biden met with Japan's PM Kishida today in Wilmington, Delaware, to advance cooperation on a range of security, economic, and diplomatic issues. In their meeting, the two leaders "reiterated their resolve to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and underscored their opposition to any attempts to change the status quo by force." Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to "developing and protecting critical and emerging technologies such as AI and semiconductors," while increasing their resilience to economic coercion. Biden underscored that the US-Japan Alliance is the "cornerstone of regional peace and prosperity" and further praised the progress that both countries made in "strengthening the global partnership" since Fumio's official visit to the States in April 2024. Biden further praised Fumio on his "visionary and courageous leadership" over the past three years for fundamentally enhancing Japan's defence capabilities and transforming its role in the world. Biden also expressed his gratitude to Fumio for his "resolute support" for strengthening the alliance's defence cooperation, including "command and control, defence industrial cooperation, and enhanced exercises and training." This was done to make a "free and open Indo-Pacific region." Both leaders further welcomed the progress in pursuing cooperation on "advanced capability projects" under Pillar 2 of the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) trilateral partnership. The leaders also discussed Japan's robust contributions to global and regional security, including through the Quad and its leadership of the G7 last year. Biden also welcomed the Fumio on his principled and resolute support for Ukraine. He also commended Fumio's "courage and conviction" in strengthening ties with the Republic of Korea (ROK), which enabled the launch of a "momentous new era" of US-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation at the Camp David Summit in August 2023. Both leaders committed themselves to sustain efforts to take the US-Japan Alliance to reach new heights and to continue standing side-by-side as steadfast global partners. (ANI)
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