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 His comments drew a swift response from China, which said the
disputed islets were Chinese territory.
Obama also urged Japan to take "bold steps" to clinch a two-way
trade pact seen as crucial to a broad regional agreement that is a
central part of the U.S. leader's "pivot" of military, diplomatic
and economic resources towards Asia and the Pacific.
U.S. and Japanese trade negotiators failed to resolve differences in
time for Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to shake hands on a
deal at the summit.
The leaders reported progress, but Japan's economics minister, Akira
Amari, said later that remaining sticking points could not be
resolved quickly.
Obama, on the start of a four-nation tour, is being treated to a
display of pomp and ceremony meant to show that the U.S.-Japan
alliance, the main pillar of America's security strategy in Asia, is
solid at a time of rising tensions over growing Chinese
assertiveness and North Korean nuclear threats.
"We don't take a position on final sovereignty determinations with
respect to Senkaku, but historically they have been administered by
Japan and we do not believe that they should be subject to change
unilaterally and what is a consistent part of the alliance is that
the treaty covers all territories administered by Japan," Obama
said.
"This is not a new position, this is a consistent one," he told a
joint news conference after his summit with Abe, using the Japanese
name for the islands that China, which also claims sovereignty over
them, calls the Diaoyu.
"In our discussions, I emphasized with Prime Minister Abe the
importance of resolving this issue peacefully," Obama added.
Whilst his comments amounted to a restatement of longstanding U.S.
policy, there was symbolism in the commitment being stated
explicitly by a U.S. president in Japan.
Responding to Obama's remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
Qin Gang told a daily press briefing in Beijing that the islands
belonged to China.
"The so-called U.S.-Japan security treaty is a product of the Cold
War era and it cannot be aimed at a third party and ought not to
harm China's territorial sovereignty," he said.
"No matter what anyone says or does, it cannot change the basic
reality that the Diaoyu Islands are China's inherent territory and
cannot shake the resolve and determination of the Chinese government
and people to protect (our) sovereignty and maritime rights."
INTERNATIONAL RULES
Obama also said there were opportunities to work with China — which
complains that his real aim is to contain its rise — but called on
the Asian power to stick to international rules.
"What we've also emphasized, and I will continue to emphasize
throughout this trip, is that all of us have responsibilities to
help maintain basic rules of the world and international order, so
that large countries, small countries, all have to abide by what is
considered just and fair," he said.
Some of China's neighbors with territorial disputes with Beijing
worry that Obama's apparent inability to rein in Russia, which
annexed Crimea last month, could send a message of weakness to
China.
Obama told the news conference that additional sanctions were "teed
up" against Russia if it does not deliver on promises in an
agreement reached in Geneva last week to ease tensions in Ukraine.
Obama and Abe also agreed that their top trade aides, U.S. Trade
Representative Michael Froman and Amari, would keep trying to narrow
gaps in their trade talks.
"This is not something we can reach a conclusion (on) in a short
period of time," Amari told reporters after meeting Froman again
after the leaders' summit.
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Abe has touted the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as key to the
"Third Arrow" of his economic program to reinvigorate the world's
third-biggest economy, along with hyper-easy monetary policy and
fiscal spending.
Both sides have also stressed that the TPP would have strategic
implications by creating a framework for business that could entice
China to play by global rules. But the talks have been stymied by
Japan's efforts to protect politically powerful agriculture sectors
such as beef, and disputes over both countries' auto markets.
Pointing to restrictions on access to Japan's farm and auto sectors,
Obama said: "Those are all issues that people are all familiar with
and at some point have to be resolved. I believe that point is now."
Experts had said failure to reach a final deal could cast doubts on
Abe's commitment to economic reform and take the wind out of the
sails of a drive for a broader TPP agreement.
"If they don't show progress ... it will be harder to use TPP as a
spur to reforms," said Robert Feldman, a managing director at Morgan
Stanley MUFG Securities in Tokyo. "It gives the anti-reform forces
aid and comfort."
DIPLOMATIC CHALLENGE
The diplomatic challenge for Obama during his week-long, four-nation
regional tour is to convince Asian partners that Washington is
serious about its promised strategic "pivot", while at the same time
not harming U.S. ties with China, the world's second-biggest
economy.
Obama will also travel to South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Abe — who repeatedly referred to the U.S. president as "Barack"
during their news conference — and Obama were keen to send a message
of solidarity after U.S-Japan ties were strained by Abe's December
visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, seen by critics as a symbol of
Japan's past militarism.
Japan lobbied hard to get the White House to agree to an official
state visit, the first by a sitting U.S. president since Bill
Clinton in 1996.
Abe is trying to soothe U.S. concerns that his conservative push to
recast Japan's war record with a less apologetic tone is
overshadowing pragmatic policies on the economy and security.
"Seventy years ago, when the war ended, Japan gave grave damage and
pain to many people, particularly people in Asia. Japan started
taking post-war steps by reflecting on this. Japan and Japanese
people have continued to take the path of peace for the past 70
years," Abe told the joint news conference.
"Japan has strived to create a free and democratic country after the
war. We have been building a country that respects human rights and
the rule of law," he said.
(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Antoni
Slodkowski, Elaine Lies, Tetsushi Kajimoto and Chris Meyers in Tokyo
and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; editing by William Mallard and Alex
Richardson)
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