Biden, Japan's Kishida pledge united front versus China

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida touted increased joint military cooperation and a new missile defense system on Wednesday, strengthening their alliance with an eye on aggressive actions by China and Russia.

"This is the most significant upgrade in our alliance since it was first established," Biden said at a joint White House news conference with Kishida, after about two hours of talks that focused on the restive Indo-Pacific region, Ukraine and the Gaza conflict.

Kishida said the two leaders also discussed tense relations between Taiwan and China, and pledged to uphold international order based on the rule of law.

“Unilateral attempts to change status quo by force or coercion is absolutely unacceptable, wherever it may be,” Kishida said. The U.S. and Japan will continue to respond to such actions, including challenges from China, he said.

“Regarding Russia’s aggression of Ukraine... Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow,” Kishida said.

The announcements from Biden and Kishida brought the two old World War Two enemies into the closest collaboration they have had since they became allies decades ago.

Biden said their militaries will cooperate with a joint command structure and they will, together with Australia, develop a new air missile defense network. The two leaders also announced that Japanese astronauts will participate in NASA moon missions.

Japan, often described as the U.S.'s most important Asia ally and its largest source of foreign direct investment, is taking on a stepped-up global role after a series of security law changes in the past decade that have transformed its pacifist constitution.

Kishida will address the U.S. Congress on Thursday and join Biden and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for a meeting expected to focus on Beijing's South China Sea incursions.

SOUTH CHINA SEA INCURSIONS

Overall, the U.S. and Japan have hammered out about 70 agreements on defense cooperation, including moves to upgrade the U.S. military command structure in Japan to make it better able to work with Japanese forces in a crisis.

The meeting comes as China steps up pressure on the Philippines in the South China Sea over area Beijing claims but international law says belongs to the Philippines.

China is attempting to isolate Japan and the Philippines, a U.S. official said. By meeting the leaders of those two nations this week in Washington, Biden is aiming to "flip the script and isolate China."

Fitch cut its outlook on China's sovereign credit rating to negative on Wednesday, citing risks to public finances as the economy faces increasing uncertainty in its shift to new growth models.

On Thursday, Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with Marcos, whom he welcomed in Washington just last year, before the pair join Kishida for a trilateral summit.

The visit may give a political boost to Kishida, whose popularity has waned at home. He is being greeted with great fanfare, with Japanese flags on display throughout Washington.

The two leaders were to attend a lavish state dinner in the White House. Biden and his wife Jill took Kishida and his wife Yuko to a private dinner at a local restaurant on Tuesday night.

Overshadowing the visit is a controversy over the planned $15 billion acquisition of American steel maker U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, a deal some say is "on life support" after criticism by Biden and former President Donald Trump, his rival in November's U.S. election.

Kishida, asked about the deal, said he hoped discussions about it would bear fruit.

"We wish to cement this win-win relationship," he said.

Biden said he stood by his commitment to union workers on the issue.

Also looming are Japanese concerns that if Trump wins a second term he might seek a deal with China that could destabilize the region.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; Editing by Heather Timmons, Jamie Freed and Chizu Nomiyama)