Published 19:40 IST, November 10th 2020
Japan PM's adviser says 'US will need Tokyo more' under Biden amid tensions with China
A prominent foreign policy adviser to Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has told the latter that Tokyo should prepare to enhance its strategic alliance.
A prominent foreign policy adviser to Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has told the latter that US will need Tokyo more amid ongoing tensions with China that won't change even under the new leadership. In a major turn of global politics that can potentially change the stance of the United States is the failure of Donald Trump to be reelected. As per Bloomberg report, former diplomat Kunihiko Miyake has said that US’ relations with Japan and East Asian policies are expected to become “relatively more important” especially when Washington is at odds with China.
Even though 46th US president-elect Joe Biden who is all set to take Trump’s place at the White House, Japan PM’s adviser has predicted that US-China would remain unchanged even under the new American leadership. According to Miyake, both Democrats and Republicans in the US are on the same side when it comes to strategic disagreements with China.
Japan PM’s adviser has reportedly also urged the nation to ‘tread a fine line’ with not only its formal military ally, the US but also its biggest trade partner which is China. Another advisor to Japan PM has reportedly advised Tokyo to gear up for a ‘leaderless era’ in the US and expand its alliance.
Japan and the United States share close strategic and diplomatic ties since the end of World War II. Currently, there are around 55,000 American soldiers deployed in Japan as part of a post-war security treaty signed between both countries. Suga and Biden are expected to discuss the Host Nation Support agreement that requires Japan to share the cost of hosting American troops. The Trump administration was pressuring Tokyo into paying more than what they were already contributing, which had become a major bilateral issue.
Biden to undo Trump’s policies
As the President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to “restore the soul of America”, he will reportedly reassert the leadership role in the United States on the global level with a series of day-one executive actions that would change the trajectory of the nation’s growth from what US President Donald Trump had been doing in the last four years. As per the CNN report, Biden and Kamala Harris’ transition team is initiating to convert the promises made during the campaigning into plans that can be implemented at the earliest with first response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He is reportedly poised to enact a series of executive actions that would undo many foreign policies set by incumbent Donald Trump. He would also seek to swiftly transform the United States to its status at the end of former US President Barack Obama’s administration before Trump acquired the White House.
Updated 19:39 IST, November 10th 2020