Biden, Kishida upgrade security ties; China cited by name in unusual move

Japanese PM issues unsubtle message that point of alliance is to counter Beijing

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With an ambitious upgrade, the 72-year-old security alliance between the US and Japan has transitioned into a global partnership intended as an urgent attempt to uphold the fraying global order.

But will it survive an impending transition of another kind? The length of the tenures of its two stewards is uncertain: President Joe Biden is up for a challenging re-election, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has suffered a fall in approval ratings of an order that often presages a challenge to leadership.

Standing side by side, Mr Biden and Mr Kishida unwrapped the contours of the largely regional alliance that has undergone a startling transformation. It now displays the global reach of US-Japan cooperation.

"This is the most significant upgrade in our alliance since it was first established," said Mr Biden in his introductory remarks at a joint news conference with Mr Kishida on April 10.

"We're modernising command and control structures, and we're increasing the interoperability and planning of our militaries so they can work together in a seamless and effective way," added the President, after their closed-door meeting that lasted nearly 1½ hours.

He also hosted Mr Kishida to a glittery state dinner at the White House during a pomp-filled, four-day official visit that kicked off on April 9.

"We have raised our shared ambitions. And now, the US-Japan alliance is a beacon to the entire world," said Mr Biden.

That the point of the alliance is to counter China was the dominant subtext. The surprise was that the message was unsubtle, with no attempt to bury it under the usual diplomatic niceties.

Unusually, Mr Kishida mentioned China by name in his prefatory remarks as he spoke about Japan's urgency to bolster the deterrence and response capabilities of the alliance before talking about "various specific challenges faced by the international community.