WASHINGTON, D.C.: US President Donald Trump on Sunday spoke to Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, to congratulate him on taking office and to discuss a “free and open Indo-Pacific” region, which is increasingly dominated by China. China is locked in disputes with neighbors including Japan and Vietnam over islands in the South China Sea. Japan’s parliament elected Suga, 71, as the country’s first new leader in nearly eight years on Wednesday. After the phone conversation Suga told reporters that he informed Trump that the alliance with Washington is the “cornerstone of peace and stability in the region,” Japan’s Kyodo News reported. In their 25-minute talk, Trump and Suga also talked about the situation in North Korea.

Source: Manila Times September 20, 2020 17:03 UTC