WASHINGTON -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in their summit talks at the White House on Feb. 10 to strengthen the bilateral alliance and economic relations.
The two leaders also confirmed that Article 5 of the bilateral security treaty, which obligates the United States to defend Japan in case of an armed attack on the country, applies to the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, which are also claimed by China.
This is the first summit meeting between Abe and Trump although they met in New York in November last year before Trump was sworn in.
At a joint news conference after the meeting, Prime Minister Abe described the Japan-U.S. alliance as the "cornerstone of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region," and vowed to cooperate with Trump to strengthen the alliance.
Prime Minister Abe proposed to Trump that Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence hold cross-sectoral consultations aimed at deepening bilateral economic ties, which the president accepted.
On the security front, the two leaders shared the view that the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to the Henoko district of the prefectural city of Nago, is the "only solution," and that the two countries will work together on the matter.
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