U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to South Korea and Japan in May, the White House announced Wednesday, visiting two of Washington’s main allies in Asia amid tensions with rival China and regional foe North Korea.
During the trip on May 20-24, Biden will meet with the leaders of the two countries with the goal of advancing his “firm commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and to the US treaty alliances with the Republic of Korea. and Japan, ”Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
In Tokyo, Biden will also meet with leaders of the Quad grouping that also includes Australia, Japan and India, and is seen as a bulwark against increasingly assertive China.
The Biden administration has repeatedly described the Asia-Pacific region, and in particular the rise of communist China, as the number one strategic issue for the United States.
China and the United States, the two largest economies in the world, are at war over trade, human rights and, more broadly, what Biden often describes as a definite 21st century struggle between the autocracy and democracy of the world.
The visit also comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will test-fire several banned weapons this year while ignoring U.S. offers of talks and vowing to speed up his nuclear program quickly.
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In bilateral meetings Biden with South Korea’s newly elected President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio will “discuss opportunities to deepen our vital security ties, improve economic ties, and expand our close collaboration to deliver practical results, ”Psaki said.
The visit will come after the special US-ASEAN summit of South Asian leaders in Washington from May 12-13.
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