First phone call from the US-Japan security leadership… Reconfirmation of the application of the Senkaku Islands Security Treaty

First phone call between Sullivan and Kitamura in Japan
“Senkaku, subject to Article 5 of the US-Japan Security Treaty”

[이미지출처=AP연합뉴스]

[아시아경제 이현우 기자] Shortly after the inauguration of the U.S. administration, Joe Biden, a senior security officer in the U.S. and Japan held a phone call for the first time and reaffirmed that the Senkaku Islands were subject to the US-Japan Security Treaty. Security officials from both countries are known to have discussed public checks and major issues in Northeast Asia together.

According to NHK on the 22nd, Japan’s National Security Commissioner Shigeru Kitamura spoke with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan the night before for about 30 minutes. This is the first phone call between the two security leaders since the inauguration of the Biden administration. Both sides reaffirmed that the Senkaku Islands are subject to Article 5 of the US-Japan Security Treaty, which regulates the U.S. defense obligations in Japan, NHK reported. The Senkaku Islands is a representative territorial dispute between Japan and China, which is under effective control by Japan and is an island area belonging to Okinawa Prefecture in the Japanese administrative area.

In the call, Director Kitamura congratulated Assistant Sullivan’s inauguration during the call, congratulating the strengthening of the U.S.-Japan alliance, the realization of a’free and open India-Pacific’, and a closer look at global challenges, including countermeasures against the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). It is known that they have expressed their intention to cooperate. In the future, cooperation between the two countries to check China is expected to strengthen further.

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is reported to have entered into coordination with President Biden to make early phone calls. According to Kyodo News, the Prime Minister’s residence has instructed the relevant department to schedule a call between the US and Japan as soon as possible.

President Biden is expected to make his first phone call with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the 22nd among foreign leaders, and it is expected that later with Prime Minister Suga. President Biden said Senkaku was subject to the US-Japan security treaty in a phone call with Prime Minister Suga last November, when he was still elected.

Reporter Lee Hyun-woo [email protected]