Japan and the United States together will take a “peace through strength” approach in countering the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) aggressive moves in the Indo-Pacific, the nations’ leaders said in February 2025.
“Further strengthening the strong and unwavering Japan-U.S. alliance to achieving a Free and Open Indo-Pacific” is key “to advance the national interests of both of our countries in synergy and to realize peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C.
“The prime minister and I will be working closely together to maintain peace and security — and I also say — peace through strength all over the Indo-Pacific,” President Trump said. “We agreed to cooperate even more closely to combat the Chinese economic aggression.”
China Coast Guard ships increasingly patrol parts of the East China and South China seas within other nations’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ). They have violently confronted Philippine supply and fishing vessels within the Philippines’ EEZ and clashed with Japanese vessels around the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands.
Ishiba advocated close ties with Japan’s longtime ally, the U.S., to maintain a multilateral security alliance in the Indo-Pacific.
The leaders intend to “advance multilayered and aligned cooperation” with the Quadrilateral partnership, which also includes Australia and India, and through separate trilateral ties with Australia, the Philippines and South Korea “to realize a Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” according to a joint statement.
They also opposed the PRC’s attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea and its unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea. They expressed support for Taiwan’s “meaningful participation in international organizations” and opposed the PRC’s provocative actions in the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and threatens to annex the self-governed island by force.
In their statement, the leaders underscored the U.S.’s “unwavering commitment” to defending Japan using its full range of capabilities, including nuclear capabilities. They also “reiterated their strong opposition to any action that seeks to undermine Japan’s long and peaceful administration of the Senkaku Islands.”
