With an overwhelming welcome to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the U.S President has set the high table for progressive bilateral negotiations and the former in high spirits to ‘wrap his head around’ Trump. Arrival of Abe for the first U.S-Japan bilateral summit, hints at Trump’s pragmatic and upfront attitude to deal with the big players in the region, post U.S’ withdrawal from the Trans-pacific partnership. This summit is preceded by Abe and Trump’s unofficial meeting in New York last November, shortly after Trump’s victory in the presidential election.  

Abe, with prior experience in dealing with aggressive and protectionist businessmen has adopted a moderate approach, so far, towards Trump administration. Japan’s silence on Trump’s controversial immigration ban, alongside proliferating signals to boost trade and commercial ties with the United States, presaged Abe’s single-minded attitude towards dealing smoothly with Trump’s United States.  

As Trump’s willingness to question long-standing defence commitments and his refusal from partaking in trans-pacific trade deal, to an extent, strained U.S-Japan ties for a while. With a touch of personal greetings and Trump’s warm embrace at the White House, of Prime Minister Abe, the frazzled bonds have fast-tracked into productive channels. Hosting the Prime Minister at the White House, Trump maintained, “We’re committed to the security of Japan. The bond between our two nations and the friendship between our two peoples runs very, very deep. This administration is committed to bringing those ties even closer”.  

Moreover, eager to have Trump by its side, Japan has taken proactive steps - Masayoshi Son, Japanese tech billionaire has promised to invest over $50 billion and create 50,000 jobs in the U.S. Alongside the Japanese government’s Facebook page has been featuring posts on Japan’s contribution to the American life- designers behind interior of New York subway cars, the pediatric cardiologist for Miami babies with heart problems among others. Even before Abe’s accession, Japan has to a great extent, re-configured his approach towards United States: surging Japanese imports, hiring maximum Americans, with over $373 billion investment in the U.S by 2014.  

At this juncture, North Korea ballistic missile test-first provocation by North Korea since Trump took over- provides a common ground to showcase collective response by Abe and Trump. Abe, at a briefing with Trump in Florida, said the missile test ‘can absolutely not be tolerated’ and have urged North Korea to fully comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions. In such tested times, Trump’s strong partnership stands crucial to Abe’s safe governance- at home- as well as in the regional biosphere.  

Further, on the conflicting issue of uninhabited East China Sea islets claimed by China and Taiwan, Trump has committed to back Japan. In the joint statement, the leaders said ‘they oppose any unilateral action that seeks to undermine Japan’s administration of these Islands’.  

Taking a step forward, Obama became the first U.S president to make a prolific commitment in the public sphere in April 2014. “ We oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine Japan’s administration of the Islands”, an official on a condition of anonymity, said. Such a pronouncement was indicative of United States aim to confront China repeated intrusion in the territorial waters around the islands of Japan.

This has to be analyzed in juxtaposition with Trump’s evolving negotiations with China. In a recent telephonic conversation with the Chinese President, Trump has agreed to support the ‘One China’ policy, which he earlier brought under scepticism implying closer ties with Taiwan.  

In such scenario, there is an urgency for Trump’s administration, for greater economic and security partnership, to maintain strategic relation with both China and Japan-two big players in the Indo-Pacific region and emerging economic drivers in the global scenario. While it serves well for Japan to collide with China, advocated by the United States, the latter has to make crucial calls when dealing with the second largest economy of the world.  

Despite, Trump’s troubled rhetoric towards Japan on the campaign trail, Trump has seized the chance to keep Abe in his good books, let alone with extensive golfing sessions at Florida gold course. It is for the members of the Indo-Pacific to cautiously guard their foreign policy stance amidst growing bilateral and trilateral treaties, where Japan, China and the United States grow as major stakeholders.