U.S. Secretary of State Voices Concern over Japan-China Relations

Manila, July 22 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that he is concerned about deteriorating relations between Japan and China. “We see it with concern,” Rubio told reporters after meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Manila on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related meetings. Rubio also said that China’s increasingly coercive actions against the Philippines in the South China Sea are “very negative.” During their meeting, Rubio and Wang discussed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to the United States in September, among other issues. In May, Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump met and agreed to build a constructive relationship of strategic stability. Rubio said that he and Wang did not discuss Trump’s allegation that China had meddled in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, which Trump lost. Meanwhile, Rubio noted that the U.S. administration is continuing to review new arms sales to Taiwan. He added that disagreements between Beijing and Washington, apparently including on Taiwan, “need to be managed very carefully.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]