US affirms support to Japan

Tokyo: Showing solidarity with Japan, President Barack Obama affirmed on Thursday that the US would be obligated to defend Tokyo in a confrontation with Beijing over a set of disputed islands, but urged all sides to resolve the long-running dispute peacefully. Wading cautiously into a diplomatic minefield, Obama insisted the US takes no position on whether the islands in the East China Sea are ultimately in the dominion of China or Japan.

But he noted that historically Japan has administered the islands, triggering America's treaty obligations to defend its ally should tensions escalate militarily. "We do not believe that they should be subject to change unilaterally," Obama said at a news conference with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "What is a consistent part of the alliance is that the treaty covers all territories administered by Japan."

The dispute over the islands, called Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China, has badly strained relations between the two Asian powers. Meanwhile, Obama urged Japan to take "bold steps" to seal a Pacific-wide trade deal after Washington failed to wrest key concessions from Tokyo. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a vast agreement that would cover about 40 per cent of the global economy, is a key plank in Obama's bid for a renewed focus on Asia. It is also seen as crucial for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pledge to shake up his country's long-lumbering economy