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 Standing side by side in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe, Biden said the U.S. is "deeply concerned" about China's attempt
to unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea.
"This action has raised regional tensions and increased the risk of
accidents and miscalculation," he said.
Biden said the U.S. is coordinating closely with allies Japan, South
Korea and others, adding that the U.S. has an interest in lowering
tensions in the region.
"I will be raising these issues with great specificity when I meet
with Chinese leadership the day after tomorrow," Biden said.
Biden's remarks came as Japan is pressing the U.S. to more actively
take Japan's side in an escalating dispute over China's new air
defense zone above a set of contested islands in the East China Sea.
The U.S. and Japan have refused to recognize China's air defense
zone above tiny islands that China and Japan both claim. The U.S.
and its allies are concerned China's move is part of a broader
strategy to assert increasing authority in the region.
"The prospect for miscalculation and mistake is too high," Biden
said of the air defense zone.
Abe, who met with Biden at the prime minister's residence here
Tuesday, said he and Biden confirmed that neither country would
tolerate the attempt to change the status quo by force. He invoked
Japan's decades-long alliance with the U.S. in pledging the two
would work closely to deal with the situation.
At the same time, Abe appeared to try to smooth over a minor rift
that emerged between the U.S. and Japan as Biden headed to the
region over whether commercial airlines should comply with China's
demand that they file flight plans before flying through the zone.
Japanese leaders were concerned after word came that the U.S. was
advising American carriers, in line with existing protocol, to
comply with such requests from foreign governments.
"We agreed we will not condone any action that could threaten safety
of civilian aircraft," Abe said.
Reluctant to cede any ground, Tokyo has been urging Japanese
commercial flights not to notify China before flying through the
zone. Word that the U.S. had advised American commercial carriers to
comply rankled leaders in Tokyo, who are hoping a united front with
the U.S. will increase pressure on Beijing to reverse course.
But senior Obama administration officials said Tuesday that the U.S.
never told American commercial carriers to comply specifically with
China's demands. Rather, the Federal Aviation Administration merely
reaffirmed existing policy that pilots should comply with such
instructions anywhere in the world, said the officials, who weren't
authorized to comment by name and demanded anonymity.
The zone covers more than 600 miles from north to south, above
international waters separating China, South Korea, Japan and
Taiwan. China says all aircraft entering the zone must notify
Chinese authorities beforehand or face unspecified defensive
measures.
Although the U.S. has joined Japan and other allies in refusing to
recognize the zone, Washington has treaded carefully, wary of
creating a new fault line in its relationship with China just as the
U.S. is pursuing a new era of economic cooperation with Beijing.
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The show of unity between Biden and Abe will be closely watched by
China, as well as other Asian nations worried that the new defense
zone may portend further steps by China to assert control in the
region. On Monday, China's ambassador to the Philippines claimed
China has a sovereign right to establish a similar zone over the
South China Sea, where China and the Philippines are locked in
another long-running territorial dispute.
The feud promises to trail Biden throughout his weeklong trip to
Asia — a tour intended to affirm Washington's continued interest in
upping its presence in the region, in part to counter China's
growing influence.
After a working dinner with Abe on Tuesday night, Biden will fly to
Beijing on Wednesday to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping,
where officials said Biden would raise U.S. concerns over the zone
directly. Biden will then travel Thursday to South Korea — another
U.S. ally at odds with China over the air defense zone.
Japan, which claims the islands as its own, is concerned that
compliance with China's demands will allow China to slowly solidify
its claim to the tiny islands and the strategically important waters
that surround them. The United States sees rising tensions between
China and its neighbors as a threat to U.S. interests, and is
concerned that the tense atmosphere increases the likelihood of an
incident in the air spiraling out of control.
The U.S. doesn't take a position on the islands' sovereignty but
acknowledges that Japan administers them, meaning U.S. treaty
obligations to defend Japan could come into play.
After a morning meeting with Japanese lawmakers and Deputy Prime
Minister Taro Aso, Biden made his way to Shibuya, a bustling Tokyo
district and fashion center, where he toured a technology company
founded by a female entrepreneur to highlight the role of women in
Japan's economy. U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy joined
Biden as he mingled with young employees in a chic, 24th-floor
lunchroom overlooking Tokyo's sprawling skyline.
At a roundtable later with business executives, Biden said he'd
heard some say women are good in the workforce because they are
kinder and gentler.
"I've never found that to be the case," Biden said to laughter.
"They're as tough, they're as strong, they're as everything as a man
is — and vice-versa."
[Associated
Press; JOSH LEDERMAN]
Reach Josh Lederman at
http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP.
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