U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden Jr.’s trip to Asia was supposed to be about mutually beneficial trade partnerships, the tastiness of U.S. agricultural exports and a dose of good ol’ American love for a region that has been feeling a little neglected lately. Instead, his Asia excursion, which includes stops in Japan, China and South Korea, has been dominated by a regional security crisis that some fear could spark armed conflict involving the world’s three biggest economies.
In Tokyo on Dec. 3, Biden renewed American ties with the staunchest U.S. ally in Asia, amid concerns over Beijing’s creation last month of an air-defense identification zone that includes skies over disputed territory between Japan and China. The U.S. Vice President has joined Japan in rejecting the lines China has drawn in the sky, with Biden characterizing himself as “deeply concerned,” in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese daily. Biden and Japan’s conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are scheduled to have a working dinner on Tuesday night. In the lead-up to Biden’s trip, U.S. officials reiterated Washington’s commitment to a longtime security alliance with Tokyo that calls for American troops to defend Japan in case of attack.
Read more: Biden in Asia: Stopping Conflict a Priority | TIME.com http://world.time.com/2013/12/03/forget-trade-talks-biden-is-in-east-asia-to-stop-a-potential-war/#ixzz2mTiANOcg
No comments:
Post a Comment