米側、尖閣防衛義務を明言　日米高官が初の電話会談

　北村滋国家安全保障局長は２１日、米国のサリバン新大統領補佐官（国家安全保障担当）と初の電話会談を行った。サリバン氏は、バイデン新政権が米国の対日防衛義務を定めた日米安全保障条約第５条を沖縄県・尖閣諸島にも適用し、「日本の施政を損なおうとするいかなる一方的な行動にも反対する」と述べた。
　北村氏は日米同盟の強化や「自由で開かれたインド太平洋」の実現のほか、経済安全保障や新型コロナウイルス対応など地球規模の課題で日米間の協力拡大に期待を示した。
　米新政権発足後、日米の安保当局高官による公のやりとりは初めて。両氏は中国や北朝鮮を含む地域情勢についても意見交換し、日米豪印４カ国の連携の重要性でも一致した。（2021/01/22-00:16）

Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to new U.S. President Joe Biden, has affirmed that the Japan-U.S. security treaty's Article 5, which stipulates U.S. defense obligations to Japan, applies to Japan's Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
   Holding phone talks with Shigeru Kitamura, head of the secretariat for the Japanese government's National Security Council, on Thursday, Sullivan said the United States opposes any unilateral action that threatens to undermine Japan's administration of the islands.
   Chinese government ships have been making intrusions into Japan's territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa. The islands are claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.
   In the talks with Sullivan, Kitamura said Japan hopes to expand cooperation with the United States in strengthening their alliance, promoting an initiative to realize a "free and open Indo-Pacific," achieving economic security and tackling global issues, such as the coronavirus pandemic.
   It was the first formal discussion held between senior security officials of Japan and the United States since the inauguration of the Biden administration. Kitamura and Sullivan also exchanged opinions about regional situations, including North Korean issues, and agreed on the importance of cooperation among their countries plus Australia and India.