US president Barack Obama has risked angering China on the first leg of his Asia tour by stanchly pledging to defend Japan's ownership of disputed islands.
In an interview with Japan’s largest newspaper before his touchdown in Japan on Wednesday night, Mr Obama said the islands fell under the scope of Washington’s security treaty with Tokyo.
"The policy of the United States is clear…we oppose any unilateral attempts to undermine Japan's administration of these islands," he said.
Tokyo and Beijing have been locked into a bitter row over the Senkaku/ Diaoyu islands since Tokyo’s decision to effectively nationalise three of them in 2012.
The decision provoked riots in China and an angry response from Beijing, which said both governments had secretly agreed years ago to shelve the territorial issue. Tokyo denies any such deal.
Chinese ships have since repeatedly sailed into what Japan calls its territorial waters. Japanese coastguard and Self-Defence Force vessels monitor the area and analysts warn that a clash is possible.
Beijing declared an air-defence identification zone over the islands last year, prompting the US to fly two B-52 bombers over the area. Washington has demanded China rescind the zone, saying it risks triggering confrontation with Japan.
Speaking to The Yomiuri newspaper before his departure on his first state visit to Japan, Mr Obama pledged to “deal directly and candidly” with China over the disputed territory and other issues.
“Disputes need to be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, not intimidation and coercion,” he said.
The president is due to spend two days in Tokyo, then fly to South Korea, Malaysia and The Philippines. Most analysts expect China to dominate discussions in all four countries.
Mr Obama shared a sushi dinner with Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, on Wednesday night. Mr Abe is looking for support for the dispute with China and his efforts to revise Japan's pacifist constitution.
The Japanese leader is likely to have been heartened by Mr Obama’s interview, in which he “enthusiastically welcomed Japan’s desire to play a greater role in upholding international security”.
“I commend Prime Minister Abe for his efforts to strengthen Japan’s defence forces and to deepen the coordination between our militaries,” including existing limits on Japan’s military, the president said.
The two leaders are also looking for an elusive breakthrough in a huge free trade deal called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Talks on the deal have deadlocked over several issues, including cuts on tariffs for Japan’s farm products.
Mr Obama will later try to broker a healing of diplomatic wounds between Washington’s two key allies in the region: Japan and South Korea, which are also at odds over disputed territory and history.
Seoul has been infuriated by Mr Abe’s wartime views. On Monday, nearly 150 conservative politicians in Japan visited the controversial Yasukuni war shrine, ignoring pleas that the pilgrimage would overshadow Mr Abe’s trip. Seoul this week accused Mr Abe of romanticising “Japanese colonialism and its war of aggression.”
