Trump talks to Japanese PM hours after his overnight call with China’s Xi

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed “the close cooperation” between Tokyo and Washington in a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, hours after Trump spoke by phone with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Takaichi said her conversation with Trump covered the strengthening of the Japan-US alliance along with the various challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region, according to the Fuji News Network.

The phone call came amid escalating tension between Beijing and Tokyo over Takaichi’s earlier remarks that suggested Tokyo could deploy its military forces in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait – seen by Beijing as a violation of its one-China policy and an intervention in its internal affairs.

“During the conversation, President Trump explained the current state of US-China relations, including the US-China leaders’ phone call held last night,” Takaichi said, adding that the two also exchanged views on a wide range of topics.

“I believe we were able to confirm the close cooperation between Japan and the US, following President Trump’s recent visit to Japan, under the current international circumstances,” Takaichi was quoted as saying.

“President Trump said that I am a very close friend of his and that I should feel free to call him any time,” she added.

South China Morning Post