US, Japan to ensure Quad continues to be force for good

 US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the foundation of their relationship "unbreakable". They said that in collaboration with India and Australia, they will ensure that the Quad will continue to be a force for good and will benefit the Indo-Pacific and the world, according to the joint statement released by US and Japan.

"With an unbreakable bilateral relationship as our foundation, we will also collaborate with others, in the region and beyond, for the benefit of the Indo-Pacific and the world: Joint Statement of the United States and Japan," the statement reads.

"Together with Australia and India, we'll ensure Quad continues to be a force for good, committed to bringing tangible benefits to the region, including by delivering results on global health, cybersecurity, climate, critical and emerging technologies, and maritime domain awareness," the statement added.

The two countries said this in a joint statement after the meeting between the US and Japanese leaders at the White House on Friday.

The statement further said that they will support the ASEAN centrality and unity. US and Japan are committed to strengthening the trilateral cooperation between Japan, Korea and the US in terms of security and other domains.

"And we will bolster our growing collaboration in the Pacific Islands, including through the partners in the Blue Pacific," the statement reads.

US and Japan reiterated their commitment to avoiding conflict across the Taiwan Strait, according to a joint statement.

"We emphasize that our basic positions on Taiwan remain unchanged, and reiterate the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community," the White House said in a statement posted on its website.

"We encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues," the statement added.

Taiwan has been governed independently from China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan -- a self-governed island-- maintains that it is an autonomous country. Meanwhile, Beijing opposes all forms of contact of foreign states with Taipei.

The situation around Taiwan escalated after then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August which angered China. In successive months, France, Japan and other western countries also sent their delegations to the island, further increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

After a bilateral meeting here, both Biden and Kishida directed their teams to strengthen cooperation on developing and effectively using Japan's counterstrike.

Biden and Kishida also urged China to do its part to enable public health officials worldwide to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and identify potential new variants by reporting adequate transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data regarding the disease's spread.

"We also call on China to report adequate transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data regarding the spread of COVID-19, to enable public health officials around the world to be prepared to reduce the spread and identify any potential new variants," the statement read.

In the end, Biden congratulated Japan on the start of its two-year term on the UN Security Council and on its presidency for the month of January. "We begin 2023 together as the closest of allies and friends, newly committed to achieving peace and prosperity, not only through our words but through our actions. The times demand no less," according to the statement.