US stresses backing for Japan, Korea and Taiwan ahead of Trump-Xi summit

The United States has reaffirmed its commitment to defending Japan and South Korea, as well as supporting Taiwan, ahead of an upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The US allies expressed their apprehension that Trump might make concessions to Xi, particularly concerning Taiwan and trade, in exchange for an economic advantage with China during their meeting at the White House on Thursday.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanoe Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung are eager to meet with Trump during the UN General Assembly in New York, where they are scheduled to address the assembly on Tuesday. Furthermore, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held discussions with his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun and Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in New York on Monday.

In a joint statement, they affirmed their determination to resist economic coercion and non-market policies, as well as arbitrary export restrictions that disrupt supply chains, in apparent reference to China.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.