by Zhu Chao
TOKYO, April 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday wrapped up his three-day visit to Tokyo, a key move in pushing forward his "pivot to Asia" strategy.
Though reaffirming commitment to defend Japan, the United States didn't receive the host's pay back. In other words, the two sides failed to make a breakthrough on a broad trade accord mainly due to Japan's insistence on tariffs of five farm products.
During the summit meeting between Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday, the visiting president assured Japan that Washington was committed to its defense, applying a U.S. -Japan security treaty to the disputed Diaoyu Islands, which was also written into the joint statement belatedly released a day after the summit.
However, it didn't mean Washington would support Japan at any cost. As Obama stated in the press conference after the summit meeting, he wasn't drawing another "red line" on possible military action and his government took no side on the issue.
Obama, who visited Japan as a state guest for the first time since Bill Clinton in 1996, also shied away from the question of whether the United States will intervene militarily if an armed incursion targeting the disputed islands happens.
China's stance on the Diaoyu Islands is consistent and clear: these islands are an inherent part of Chinese territory and China holds indisputable sovereignty over them. Japan's occupation of the islands is illegal and invalid. The U.S.-Japan defense treaty cannot undermine China's territorial sovereignty and legitimate rights.
On the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) issue, though Obama and Abe made a last-ditch push for the talks on the summit meeting, the two sides still failed to settle differences over farm products and cars.
In the joint statement released by the White House shortly before Obama's departure, Tokyo and Washington said they have " identified a path forward" on bilateral issues for the TPP initiative, but "there is still much work to be done" to seal a pact.
By contrast, Akira Amari, Japan's minister in charge of TPP, said the same day that no problems had been completely solved over the issue of market access for agricultural products on the Japan side and autos on the U.S. side, which means the TPP talks, high on Abe's economic reform agenda and central to Obama's policy of expanding U.S. presence in Asia, still have a long way to go.
Asked about the summit, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso voiced doubts on Friday. He even told reporters at a press conference the day that Obama did not have the clout to get consensus in the United States and that kind of deal was unlikely ahead of U.S. mid-term congressional elections in November.
The two sides also said in the joint statement that they fully support the use of diplomatic and legal means, including international arbitration, to settle maritime disputes in the South China Sea, and reaffirm commitment to reduce the impact of U. S. forces on Okinawa.
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