Joe Biden with Japanese PM Fumio Kishida in Washington, DC. REUTERS
Washington, April 10
President Joe Biden welcomed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House on Wednesday for talks on the delicate security situation in the Pacific and for a glitzy state dinner, honouring a leader who has proven to be one of Biden's strongest allies in the face of international crises.
US prez ‘considering’ reprieve for Assange
- President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that “he is considering a request from Australia to drop the decade-long US push to prosecute Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for publishing a trove of American classified documents
- For years, Australia has called on the US to drop its prosecution against Assange, an Australian citizen who has fought US extradition efforts from prison in the UK
Kishida's official visit completes the administration's feting of the leaders of the Quad, the informal partnership between the US, Japan, Australia and India that the White House has focused on elevating since Biden took office.
As administration officials put it, they saved the most pivotal relationship for last. The visit also marks the realization of Japan's transformation from regional player to that of global influencer — with senior Biden administration officials noting appreciatively there is little the US does across the globe that Tokyo doesn't support. They pointed to Japan's eagerness to take a leading role in trying to bolster Ukraine against Russia's invasion and with the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Biden and Kishida are also kindred spirits as politicians, both confronting difficult political headwinds on the home front while trying to navigate increasingly complicated problems on the global stage.
“For Biden, this is a chance to highlight and cement progress in the relationship, the most important bilateral alliance in the Indo-Pacific,” said Christopher Johnstone, a former national security official. — AP
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