January 7, 2022

Aiming to deepen defense cooperation, the US and Japan on Friday held a virtual 2+2 meeting, with a new five-year agreement on sharing the cost of US military presence in Japan signed. Experts said that Kishida Fumio's cabinet, under pressure from the country's domestic right force and US Biden administration, has itself heading in a dangerous direction as the US-Japan alliance has become increasingly weak and foolishly isolated in the Indo-Pacific region. 

The meeting involved foreign and defense ministers from the two countries and also - somewhat routinely - targeted China, which was described as undermining the (US devised) rules-based international order, and posing "present political, economic, military, and technological challenges to the region and the world."

The ministers' joint statement also managed to mention China's internal affairs and core interests in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin expressing strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition about the statement on Friday. 

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