U.S. doesn’t want Abe to bring up collective self-defense at summit
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Washington is reluctant to back Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s aim to lift Japan’s self-imposed ban on exercising the right to collective defense at a planned Japan-U.S. summit later this month for fear of provoking China, diplomatic sources said Friday.
The U.S. reaction comes as Abe hopes to highlight forging a stronger alliance with the United States by gaining Obama’s backing for the move at their summit, the sources close to bilateral relations said.
Washington has told Tokyo that if Obama openly welcomes Japan’s move to allow its troops to engage in collective self-defense, or the right to come to the defense of an ally under armed attack, it could upset Beijing, which might interpret the gesture as a move by Japan and the United States to increase pressure on China, according to the sources.
U.S. officials also said during preparatory talks ahead of the summit, being arranged for Feb. 21 or 22, that heightening tension between Tokyo and Beijing with Washington closely involved could hurt stability in the region and would run counter to the common interest of Japan and the United States, the sources said.
The relationship between Japan and China has sunk to its lowest levels in years due to conflicting sovereignty claims over the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
The sources quoted a senior U.S. government official as telling Japan that the United States does not want the issue publicized at the summit.
Tokyo will now need to quickly find another way of showing to the rest of the world that the Japan-U.S. alliance is strengthened, Japanese government sources said.
The U.S. Department of State is also reluctant to accept Japan’s proposal that Abe and Obama call for restraint on China’s maritime activities around the Senkakus, saying it could affect U.S.-China relations, they said.
Kyodo Press