US calls for deeper Japan ties as China, N Korea cast shadow

Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlights US-Japan economic ties as he stresses vulnerabilities in global supply chains amid pandemic.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday called for deeper economic ties with Japan, as he and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin sought to use their first trip abroad to buttress Asian alliances as a bulwark against China’s assertiveness. Their visit to Tokyo and Seoul is the first overseas trip by senior officials from President Joe Biden’s administration and follows a virtual summit last week of the leaders of the United States, Japan, Australia and India – the so-called Quad alliance. Issues on the agenda range from freedom of navigation in the South and East China Seas to North Korea, the military coup in Myanmar and the security of semiconductor supply chains.