Trump Considers Withdrawing US From Security Treaty With Japan - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th June, 2019) US President Donald Trump is considering the possibility to pull the United States out of the 1960 US-Japanese Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, media reported on Tuesday.

Trump told his confidants that the treaty was unfair as it envisaged US military aid in case of an attack on Japan, but not Japanese aid in case of an attack on the United States, the Bloomberg news agency reported, citing three people familiar with the situation.

Trump has not made any steps on the issue yet but the move is highly likely to be done, according to Bloomberg's sources.

The media outlet believes that the possible pullout could result in a new nuclear arms race as Japan is likely to look for new ways to protect itself from threats coming from China and North Korea.

Trump is also reportedly viewing the Japanese authorities' attempts to relocate a large military base in Okinawa as a land grab and thinks about demanding compensation from Tokyo.

The US-Japanese Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security was signed in 1960, replacing the 1951 Security Treaty between Tokyo and Washington.