JAPAN VOICES "FULL" TRUST IN US AFTER TRUMP QUESTIONS SECURITY PACT

TOKYO, March 7 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japan on Friday expressed its "full confidence" that the United States (US) will fulfil its obligations under a bilateral security treaty to defend the Asian nation, after President Donald Trump questioned the long-standing pact, calling it non-reciprocal, Kyodo News Agency reported.

Japan, which sees the alliance as the linchpin of its defence and diplomacy, will also "proactively" consider ways to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the alliance and maintain close communication with the US, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

In recent years, Japan and the US have been beefing up the interoperability of the Self-Defence Forces and the US military in the face of growing security threats from North Korea and China.

Hayashi said the two nations can now "help each other seamlessly" in responding to various situations following a legal change enabling Japan, whose constitution renounces war, to exercise the right of collective self-defence when certain conditions are met.

"We have full confidence that the United States will fulfil its obligations under the Japan-US security treaty by using all available capabilities, including nuclear ones," Hayashi told a regular press briefing.

Defence Minister Gen Nakatani also echoed that view in his comments to reporters. Although he refrained from directly addressing Trump's remarks, he emphasised that Tokyo is "working to fundamentally strengthen" its defence capabilities toward the goal of increasing its defence spending to two per cent of its gross domestic product in fiscal 2027.

Trump's return has raised concerns that Washington will put more pressure on its allies to spend and do more to defend themselves.

He has cast doubt on NATO while Elbridge Colby, tapped to be undersecretary of defence for policy in the Trump administration, urged Japan to increase its budget to three per cent of GDP earlier this week.

Under the Japan-US security pact, US military forces are stationed in Japan, mostly in Okinawa, which is close to both Taiwan and the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The Senkakus, administered by Japan but claimed by China, have been at the heart of tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

In their first face-to-face summit in February, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba confirmed with Trump that the uninhabited islands are covered by the security treaty.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO