Biden, Japanese PM Kishida to meet at White House January 13

Washington: US President Joe Biden will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio at the White House on January 13 to discuss the bilateral relationship and regional and global issues, including the situation in the Indo-Pacific, the Ukrainian war and North Korea's ballistic missile programmes, a presidential spokesperson has announced.

The meeting comes before Japan hosts the G7 summit in May in Hiroshima.

During the meeting, Biden will reiterate his full support for Japan’s recently released National Security Strategy, its presidency of the G7, and its term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday.

“They will also discuss a range of regional and global issues including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes, Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, and maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” she said.

Last month, North Korea claimed to have performed key tests needed for the development of a new strategic weapon. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also ordered the “exponential” expansion of his country's nuclear arsenal.

Biden and Kishida will celebrate the unprecedented strength of the US-Japan Alliance and will set the course for their partnership in the year ahead, she said.

Biden looks forward to welcoming Kishida to the White House to further deepen ties between the governments, economies, and the people, the press secretary said.

“Over the past year, the two leaders have worked closely together to modernise the US-Japan Alliance, expand our cooperation on key issues from climate change to critical technologies including through the Quad, and advance a free and open Indo-Pacific. President Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will build on these efforts,” she said.

The US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the resource-rich region.

China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea.

The Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprises India, the US, Japan and Australia.

The two leaders last met in Bali, Indonesia, during November's G20 summit.