FT – US and Japan plan security pact upgrade to resist China
China is the focus in the Financial Times, which leads with reports the US and Japan are planning to bolster their security alliance in a bid to counter what they view as a growing threat from Beijing. A striking image of Moscow’s destroyed Crocus City Hall venue following Friday’s attack also features prominently.
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US and Japan plan biggest upgrade to security pact in over 60 years
The US and Japan are planning the biggest upgrade to their security alliance since they signed a mutual defence treaty in 1960 in a move to counter China. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will announce plans to restructure the US military command in Japan to strengthen operational planning and exercises between the nations, according to five people familiar with the situation.
They will unveil the plan when Biden hosts Kishida at the White House on April 10. The allies want to bolster their security ties to respond to what they view as a growing threat from China, which requires their militaries to co-operate and plan more seamlessly, particularly in a crisis such as a Taiwan conflict.
While Biden and Kishida will herald the strength of the US-Japan alliance, the summit will come just weeks after the US president expressed his opposition to the Japanese group Nippon Steel acquiring US Steel. The intervention was designed to boost union support before the November election, but has partly soured the otherwise strong alliance.
https://www.ft.com/content/df99994d-ec4b-4c3c-9c42-738ec9b338d0