<p class="title">U.S. President Donald Trump marked the 60th anniversary of the signing of the current U.S.-Japan security treaty with a call for a stronger and deeper alliance between the two countries, despite criticising the pact six months ago.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"As the security environment continues to evolve and new challenges arise, it is essential that our alliance further strengthen and deepen," Trump said in a statement dated Jan. 18.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I am confident that in the months and years ahead, Japan's contributions to our mutual security will continue to grow, and the alliance will continue to thrive."</p>.<p class="bodytext">In June last year, Trump told a news conference in Japan that the 1960 treaty - which was signed exactly six decades ago on Sunday, and is the linchpin of Japan's defence policies - was "unfair" and should be changed, echoing his long-held view that Japan is a free-rider on defence.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The treaty obligates the United States to defend Japan, which under its U.S.-drafted constitution renounced the right to wage war after World War Two. Japan in return provides military bases used by the United States to project power in Asia.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The treaty was first signed in 1951 and revised in 1960 under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's grandfather, then-premier Nobusuke Kishi. Kishi was forced to step down afterwards following a public outcry from Japanese critics who feared the pact would pull their country into conflict.</p>
<p class="title">U.S. President Donald Trump marked the 60th anniversary of the signing of the current U.S.-Japan security treaty with a call for a stronger and deeper alliance between the two countries, despite criticising the pact six months ago.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"As the security environment continues to evolve and new challenges arise, it is essential that our alliance further strengthen and deepen," Trump said in a statement dated Jan. 18.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I am confident that in the months and years ahead, Japan's contributions to our mutual security will continue to grow, and the alliance will continue to thrive."</p>.<p class="bodytext">In June last year, Trump told a news conference in Japan that the 1960 treaty - which was signed exactly six decades ago on Sunday, and is the linchpin of Japan's defence policies - was "unfair" and should be changed, echoing his long-held view that Japan is a free-rider on defence.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The treaty obligates the United States to defend Japan, which under its U.S.-drafted constitution renounced the right to wage war after World War Two. Japan in return provides military bases used by the United States to project power in Asia.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The treaty was first signed in 1951 and revised in 1960 under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's grandfather, then-premier Nobusuke Kishi. Kishi was forced to step down afterwards following a public outcry from Japanese critics who feared the pact would pull their country into conflict.</p>