The world is navigating through a dark moment in our shared history over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden told key Asian allies. He said that the war has now become “a global problem” that highlights the importance of protecting the international order. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida repeated his comments, saying a similar invasion should never occur in Asia.
Mr Biden is meeting with leaders from Japan, Australia and India in Tokyo on his first trip to Asia as president. The four countries, known collectively as the Quad, discussed security and economic concerns, including growing Chinese influence in the region and differences over Russia’s incursion. Mr Biden’s comments came one day after he warned China it was “flirting with peril” over Taiwan and promised military protection for Taiwan in case of Chinese aggression, which appeared at odds with the United States’ longstanding policy on the matter.
It was subsequently reported that Russian and Chinese warplanes had approached Japanese airspace in joint military patrols, leading Tokyo to announce that it had scrambled its jets in response. Russian officials said that the flights over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea were part of annual military exercises.