New Japanese premier speaks to Biden as China seeks ‘peaceful coexistence’

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Japan’s newly-elected Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke to US President Joe Biden, vowing to strengthen bilateral ties while China’s President Xi Jinping urged “peaceful coexistence” with Tokyo.

“I had a great first phone call” with Biden, said Ishiba on Wednesday, adding that he will work “hand-in-hand” with the US president to “strengthen the Japan-US alliance and deepen our cooperation as global partners.”

Ishiba, elected prime minister on Tuesday, is known for his views seeking to review a bilateral defense pact with the US under which more than 50,000 American soldiers are deployed in the country.

Meanwhile, Xi sent a congratulations letter to Ishiba and said the two countries were “separated by a strip of water.”

“It serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples for both sides to walk on a road of peaceful coexistence, everlasting friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development,” Xi told Japan’s 102nd prime minister.

Xi called on Japan under Ishiba to abide by the principles and consensus established in the four political documents signed between the two countries.