Having previously met with Nigel Farage and gotten a congratulatory phone call from Vladimir Putin, together followed by a more cautious, “warning” greeting from China president Xi Jinping, today the Trump story advances with the President-elect meeting his first world leader post the election with Japan’s Abe passing through town.
On the surface, the diplomatic talking point are familiar: Abe said on Thursday that he wants to build a relationship of trust when he meets Trump, stressing that the two-way alliance is the core of Tokyo’s diplomacy and security. The U.S.-Japan alliance “is the cornerstone of Japan’s diplomacy and security. Only when there is trust does an alliance come alive,” Abe told reporters before leaving Tokyo, Kyodo news agency reported.
However, before any “cornerstones” are rededicated, there appears to be a problem: as Reuters reports, details about the meeting remain unclear, with Trump’s transition team not responding to requests for comment on the meeting. As of last night, Japanese officials said they had not finalized when or where in New York it would take place, who would be invited, or in some cases whom to call for answers. Perhaps Abe will make an appearance at the Trump Tower?
Trump has spurred worries in Tokyo and beyond with his comments on the possibility of Japan acquiring nuclear arms and demands that allies pay more for the upkeep of U.S. forces on their soil or face the possibility of their withdrawal.
“Prime Minister Abe will definitely talk about the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance and that alliance is not only for Japan and the United States, but also for the entire Indo-Pacific region as well as world politics,” Abe adviser Katsuyuki Kawai told Reuters. Kawai said he had spoken to several Trump advisers and lawmakers since arriving in Washington on Monday and had been told “we don’t have to take each word that Mr. Trump said publicly literally”.
The Trump adviser said he expected Trump would reaffirm “the American commitment to being in the Pacific long-term.” The adviser said Japan’s financial support for U.S. troops in Japan might come up but was unlikely to be a focus.
An adviser to Trump, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to media, told Reuters earlier this week that Trump would seek to reassure Abe and other Asian allies rattled by his campaign rhetoric.
Even if the two leaders find a quiet corner in which to speak, it is unlikely that much progress will be made: before Trump makes key cabinet appointments, it will be hard to assess his policies on issues ranging from overseas deployments of U.S. troops, China’s maritime aggressiveness in Asia and North Korea’s nuclear threat.
Additionally, unlike Trump’s meeting with Farage, there are key difference between Abe, a political blue blood and veteran lawmaker, and Trump, a brash outsider with no diplomatic or government experience. Trump’s election also has dashed hopes for U.S. approval of a 12-nation trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a linchpin of Washington’s “pivot” to Asia and a pillar of Abe’s economic reforms. It has also shifted the political balance of power in Asia in China’s court, a transition which has alarmed the Abe cabinet.
However, there is a chance that the two may also find they have much in common, including pledges to restore their countries’ global stature and a desire to counter a rising China while improving relations with Russia.
But most curious will be whether Trump will allow the press to be present: the early “relations” between the president-Elect and the media which widely panned his presidential chances indicate substantial tension, and it is possible that relations between the two camps will only escalate in the coming days.
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