President Joe Biden’s six-day trip to South Korea and Japan aims to build rapport with the Asian nations’ leaders.
The conundrums Biden faces in Asia are no less daunting.
Japan has reported frequent intrusions by China’s military vessels into Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The uninhabited islets are controlled by Japan but claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu. Meanwhile, South Korea could tilt closer to the U.S. under Yoon, who took office last week. The new South Korean president has criticized his predecessor as “subservient” to China by seeking to balance the relationships with Washington and Beijing. To neutralize North Korea’s nuclear threats, Yoon has pledged to seek a stronger U.S. security commitment.
U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, Biden's top envoy to Japan, said the Japanese have stood out by rallying eight of 10 members of the Association of Southeast Nations to back a U.N. vote against the Russian invasion. Biden arrives in the midst of an unfolding crisis in North Korea, where a mass COVID-19 outbreak is spreading through its unvaccinated population. North Korea acknowledged domestic COVID-19 infections for the first time last week, ending a widely doubted claim it had been virus-free.
To be certain, China will also be carefully watching for “cracks in the relationship" during Biden's trip, said Scott Kennedy, a China economic analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
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