A: Hey! Did you hear about what the US Secretary of State said?

B: No way! What’s up?

A: Apparently, Marco Rubio thinks the US will stick with Japan, like always. But they also need to find ways to work with China.

B: Oh wow. Sounds complicated! What made him say that?

A: Prime Minister Takaichi said something about Taiwan... China wasn’t happy.

B: Seriously? That’s a sensitive topic!

A: Yeah! Rubio said things are already tense between Japan and China. It’s a tricky balance.

B: So, the US wants to be friends with both?

A: Pretty much! They want a strong alliance with Japan, but still need to have good relations with China. They said China is too important to ignore.

B: Makes sense, I guess. Big country, lots of power.

A: And then, someone asked him about Ukraine.

B: Oh yeah? What did he say?

A: He said any peace deal *has* to be okay with Ukraine. The US isn’t going to force anything on them.

B: That's good to hear! Fair enough, right? Ukraine gets to decide.