TOKYO\/SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday China was acting aggressively and repressively, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reaffirmed U.S. security assurances to achieve a complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.<\/p>\n
Speaking to a roundtable of Japanese journalists in Tokyo, Blinken said Beijing was \u201craising tensions not diminishing them,\u201d citing its posturing over Taiwan and actions in the East and South China Seas where it has territorial disputes with Japan and other Asian nations.<\/p>\n
Blinken is visiting Japan and South Korea along with Austin in a bid to fortify Washington\u2019s alliances in Asia, in a first overseas trip by top level members of President Joe Biden\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s extensive territorial claims in the East and South China Seas have become a priority issue in an increasingly testy Sino-U.S. relationship and are an important security concern for Japan.<\/p>\n
Blinken said Beijing was \u201cacting both more repressively at home and more aggressively abroad, including in the East China Sea, including with regard to the Senkakus, as well the South China Sea and also with regard to Taiwan\u201d.<\/p>\n
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The Senkakus, also referred to as Diaoyu in China, are islets in the East China Sea controlled by Japan but claimed by China.<\/p>\n
\u201cJapan has real interest in what happens with regard to Taiwan and Taiwan\u2019s straits and we spent some time comparing notes on that,\u201d said Blinken describing talks he had with Japanese officials on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The comments echoed statements issued by Blinken, Austin and their Japanese counterparts after \u201c2+2\u201d talks in Tokyo and come ahead of Blinken\u2019s first in-person meetings with Chinese counterparts planned for later this week in Alaska.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to the opportunity to lay out in very clear terms to our Chinese counterparts some of the concerns that we have about the actions they\u2019re taking,\u201d said Blinken.<\/p> After arriving in Seoul, Austin held talks with South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook and pledged to continue providing extended deterrence, including the U.S. nuclear umbrella, Seoul\u2019s defence ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n Both sides also reaffirmed their shared goal of achieving complete denuclearisation and lasting peace on the Korean peninsula, the ministry said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S.-South Korea alliance is ever more important because of the unprecedented threats from China and North Korea,\u201d Austin said at the start of the meeting, according to the Yonhap news agency.<\/p>\n Austin called the alliance a \u201clinchpin\u201d for peace, security and prosperity in Northeast Asia, and for a free and open Indo-Pacific region and beyond.<\/p>\n Suh said it was important for the allies to maintain a strong deterrence and joint defence posture against North Korea, and vowed to strengthen the alliance, Yonhap said.<\/p>\n Austin and Blinken were set to hold \u201c2+2\u201d talks with their South Korean counterparts and meet President Moon Jae-in and other senior officials until Thursday.<\/p>\n