Biden Affirms Japan-U.S. Security Treaty Covering Senkakus

Tokyo, Nov. 12 (Jiji Press)--Joe Biden, who is certain to have won the U.S. presidential election, affirmed Thursday that the U.S.-Japan security treaty covers the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

In his first telephone talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who took office in September, Biden said that the treaty's Article 5, which obliges the United States to defend territories under Japanese jurisdiction, is applied to the islands, which are claimed by China.

Commenting on the affirmation by Biden, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said that he expressed the U.S. side's "intention to continue to boost deterrence."

During a visit to Japan in April 2014, then U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed that the article covers the island chain. Biden was U.S. vice president at the time.

The latest remark by Biden was apparently aimed at holding in check China's continuing provocation, such as its coast guard ships' repeated intrusions into Japanese territorial waters around the islands. A senior Japanese government official praised Biden's assurance regarding the security treaty provision, saying that the phone conversation was "perfect."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]