The US is welcomed in the Indo-Pacific region and should do more, ambassador to Japan says

By DIDI TANG
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, says the U.S. is welcomed in the Indo-Pacific and should do more to counter China’s influence there. Speaking at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York on Friday, Emanuel described Japan as an essential player in U.S.-led alliances and an influential power that works with the U.S. in the region. He says the U.S. needs to “think of a new and kind of modernized way we approach Japan and the region as well.” Tensions have grown in the Indo-Pacific region, where China has become more assertive over both the South China Sea and the East China Sea and ratcheted up military pressure over Taiwan.