US-Japan alliance a 'cornerstone of US policy'

NEW YORK, Sept 21, 2009 (AFP) — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday described her country's alliance with Japan as a "cornerstone" of US foreign policy in a first meeting with her Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada.

"The alliance between the United States and Japan is a cornerstone of our foreign policy, and indispensable to the security and prosperity of the Asia Pacific," Clinton said in New York.

"I look forward to working with him (Okada) to develop and strengthen even stronger bonds, partnership, friendship and alliance in pursuit of our common values and a future that we hope will be even better," she added.

Clinton, in New York for the United Nations general assembly meeting this week, held talks with Okada after dispatching her top official on the region to meet with the new Japanese government.

Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, said Monday that the United States wants "to underscore how important it is for us to get off to a good start in the US-Japanese relationship."

Campbell said he had promised that the United States would listen to how Tokyo now intends to undertake a review in the relationship.

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