President Obama Says US-Japan Security Treaty Applies To Islands Claimed By China

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

TOKYO — President Barack Obama confirmed Wednesday that America's mutual security treaty with Japan applies to the islands at the center of a territorial dispute between China and Japan.

"The policy of the United States is clear," he said in a written response to questions published in Japan's Yomiuri newspaper before his arrival in Tokyo at the start of a four-country Asia tour.

"The Senkaku islands are administered by Japan" and therefore fall under the U.S.-Japan treaty, he wrote. "And we oppose any unilateral attempts to undermine Japan's administration of these islands."

His statement seems aimed at reassuring Japan that the U.S. would come to its defense if China were to seize the islands, known as the Diayou in China. Russia's annexation of Crimea has sparked concern about America's political will to protect Asian allies, notably in Japan and the Philippines.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/world/256281001.html

[okaawhatever]

1. Japan is a whole different situation from Ukraine. We have had a treaty with them for protection

since WWII. The Bucharest Memorandum signed in 1993 w/Ukraine the UK and Russia was only for protection in case of nuclear attack and wasn't a full treaty.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Obama visit to Asia seen as counterweight to China

TOKYO (AP) -- President Barack Obama's travels through Asia aim to reassure partners about the renewed U.S. commitment to the region, with an eye both to China's rising assertiveness and the fast-growing markets that are the center of gravity for global growth.

Nearly seven months after he cancelled an Asia tour due to the U.S. government shutdown, Obama's failure to prevent Russia from annexing Crimea has sharpened concerns that America lacks the will or wherewithal to follow through on its much-touted "pivot" to the Asia-Pacific.

"Words come easy," said Philippine political analyst Ramon Casiple. "But U.S. allies would want to know what help they can get when things reach a point of no return."

The United States has been stepping up regional military deployments, but has made less progress on rebalancing through broader diplomatic and economic initiatives, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a Pacific Rim free trade agreement.

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