Blinken visits Japan as Nippon Steel decision weighs on relations
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Mr Antony Blinken is expected to meet senior Japanese government officials on Jan 7.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden’s decision to block Nippon Steel’s US$14.9 billion (S$20.33 billion) bid
The rejection, announced on Jan 3, has jolted US efforts to boost ties with Asian allies just as South Korea’s political crisis potentially complicates a revived relationship between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo. The trilateral alliance is a key plank in the countries’ efforts to counter China’s military build-up.
Investment into the US could also be chilled, but analysts say any damage to the wider US-Japan relationship will likely be limited given shared security concerns about China.
The State Department said Mr Blinken will meet senior Japanese government officials on Jan 7 to review “the tremendous progress the US-Japan alliance has made over the past few years”.
He would “reaffirm the importance of the alliance in addressing a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues and continue to build on the momentum of US-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation”, it said, using the initial of South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.
In Seoul on Jan 6, Mr Blinken reaffirmed confidence in South Korea’s handling of its political turmoil as investigators there sought an extension of a warrant to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Allies of US President-elect Donald Trump have also reassured Seoul and Tokyo that he will support continuing to improve their once-icy ties and advance military, economic and diplomatic cooperation to counter China and North Korea, Reuters reported ahead of Trump’s Nov 5 reelection.
Tension, limited damage from Nippon Steel decision
Nippon Steel and US Steel filed a lawsuit on Jan 6 charging that Mr Biden violated the US Constitution by blocking their US$14.9 billion merger through what they termed a sham national security review. They called for the US federal court to overturn the decision.
Mr Nicholas Szechenyi, a Japan expert at Washington’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said Mr Biden’s decision would make Mr Blinken’s Tokyo visit “awkward”.
However, “Japan won’t let the Nippon Steel decision poison the US-Japan relationship; it’s too important for Japan’s national security”, he said.
A Japanese diplomat told Reuters Mr Biden’s decision could chill foreign direct investment, but hoped close US-Japan relations would continue, with a strong emphasis on re-establishing the strong ties with Trump seen during his previous administration, and taking advantage of the increasingly hawkish mood in Washington on China.
Business lobbies in both Japan and the US pushed hard for the merger, backing their arguments with warnings about the effect on the vital US-Japan relationship.
But the merger faced opposition from both Mr Biden and Trump, who takes office on Jan 20 and was assiduously courted by Japan in the run-up to his reelection.
Trump reiterated after his re-election that he was “totally against” the merger and vowed to block it as president and support US Steel with tax breaks and tariffs.
A former senior official in Trump’s first administration told Reuters he believed Trump would have taken the same approach as Mr Biden.
Mr Marc Busch, a fellow at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, forecast “significant fallout” for US efforts to work with allies to create resilient supply chains in the face of Chinese dominance or competition in key areas.
“Japan and other allies will have doubts about investing in or aligning with politically sensitive US supply chains. China must be chuckling to itself that it could never have hoped for a better outcome.” REUTERS
