The Chinese edition of Sohu reported on the awkward moment experienced by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida while communicating with US President Joe Biden.
During US President Joe Biden’s Asian voyage, he took part in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) summit held in Japan. The meeting was also attended by the leaders of Japan, Australia and India. As noted by the publication PolitRussiaat this event, the American side hoped to unite their partners to contain China.
The leaders of the four states were supposed to take a traditional group photo, but in the pause, while preparations were underway for the shooting, they engaged in informal communication: Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were actively talking and laughing, and Indian leader Narendra Modi joined them. Japanese Premier Fumio Kishida, who was standing nearby, also clearly wanted to take part in the conversation, but, as the authors of Sohu point out, he was stubbornly ignored, which was especially impolite, given that Japan was the host.
“For a full 30 seconds, Kishida remained on the sidelines. All three seemed to ignore the presence of the host of the summit and left him without a handshake and friendly communication, ”Sohu quotes PolitRussia as saying. According to the authors of the Chinese edition, the Japanese prime minister survived a “shameful 30 seconds.”
Earlier it was reported that at a press conference following the results of the Quad, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Japan is currently not going to join the military alliance of Australia, Great Britain and the United States (AUKUS), designed to contain China’s influence in the Asia-Pacific region.