THE WASHINGTON FOREIGN PRESS CENTER, WASHINGTON, D.C.
MODERATOR: Welcome, everyone, to the Washington Foreign Press Center. My name is Miranda Patterson, one of the media relations officers here at the FPC. I am pleased to welcome back Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper to the Washington Foreign Press Center this afternoon. And the purpose of today’s briefing is to preview the official visit of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio as well as the first U.S.-Japan-Philippines Trilateral Leaders’ Summit along with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper is special assistant to the President and senior director for East Asia and Oceania. She is a top White House advisor responsible for the Indo-Pacific Strategy and many other initiatives.
A quick reminder of the ground rules for today. The briefing is on the record. After her opening remarks, Senior Director Rapp-Hooper has kindly agreed to take questions. Please raise your hand and I will call on you. If called for a question, please begin your question by stating your name, outlet, and country. For our journalists joining via Zoom, if you have a question, please go to the participant field and virtually raise your hand. We will call on you and you can unmute yourself if you like, turn on your video, and ask your question. You can also submit questions in the chat box. If you have not already done so, please take the time now to rename yourself in Zoom – in your Zoom profile with your full name and the name of your media outlet.
This briefing will end promptly at 12:45. We will post a video and a transcript of the briefing afterwards on our website, which is fpc.state.gov.
And with what, I’m going to turn the briefing over now to Senior Director Rapp-Hooper.
MS RAPP-HOOPER: Thank you so much, Miranda, and thank you to the Foreign Press Center for having me today. It’s good to see you all.
As you know, tomorrow, Wednesday, the President and First Lady will welcome to the White House Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Mrs. Kishida of Japan for an official visit that will include a state dinner. Since day one of this administration, we have been focused on reinvesting in and reinvigorating our alliances in the Indo-Pacific, and nowhere has President Biden’s strategy paid off more than in this region and with respect to our alliance with Japan.
Our alliances and partnerships have long been critical to securing a free, open, prosperous, and resilient global order, and in the last three years Japan has been working tirelessly and in lockstep alongside the United States as we look to achieve our shared vision for this region and for the world.
What you’ll see on display over the course of this state visit is that we are strategically aligned and cooperating in every area across every part of the world. This state visit is a celebration of our bilateral relationship as it evolves into a true global partnership that is a force for peace and prosperity.
Since both President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida took office in 2021, the two leaders have met nearly a dozen times. When President Biden welcomed Kishida – Prime Minister Kishida to Washington for the first time in January of 2023, Japan had just published its historic national security strategy, which called for an increase in defense spending to 2 percent of GDP; said that Japan would seek to acquire counterstrike capabilities alongside the United States; and would enhance its cooperation with likeminded partners.
Throughout the official visit with state dinner this week, the President will honor and celebrate Prime Minister Kishida’s courageous leadership in the Indo-Pacific, including his domestic reforms to strengthen Japan’s defense posture and increased defense spending; his work alongside President Yoon of the ROK to build a new foundation in Japan-ROK relations; his work to support Southeast Asia and the Pacific…
This article was originally published by a www.state.gov . Read the Original article here. .