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US-Japan statement on Taiwan opposed
(Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-02-20 12:10 The United States and Japan has listed in an
unprecedented joint statement that Taiwan is their common security concern, and
easing tensions in the Taiwan Strait was among their "common strategic
objectives."
US
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (L) listens to Japanese Foreign
Minister Nobutaka Machimura during a press conference at the State
Department in Washington, DC. The US and Japan declared that Taiwan was a
common security issue. [AFP] |
Senior
officials of the two countries also talked about China's military investment in
the past years, urging China "to improve transparency of its military affairs".
Earlier, CIA director Goss said that China's growing defense buildup might "tilt
the balance of the Taiwan Strait" and threaten U.S. troops in the Asian region.
Chinese Government and people resolutely opposes the United States and Japan
in issuing any bilateral document concerning China's Taiwan, which meddles the
internal affairs of China, and hurts China's sovereignty, China's foreign
ministry said.
The ministry said that peace, development and cooperation are the growing
trends of the world, and aspirations of all earth's residents. Beijing urged the
United States to see to their respective commitments toward Chinese people
concerning Taiwan, and refrain from doing things that affect peace and stability
in Asia and Pacific.
L-R: US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and Japanese
Defense Minister Yoshinori Ono attend a press conference after talks at
the US State Department.[AFP] |
A joint
statement released after a top ministerial meeting in Washington on Saturday of
the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee, said that one of the common
strategic objectives in Asia was to "develop a cooperative relationship with
China, welcoming the country to play a responsible and constructive role
regionally as well as globally."
It is the first time that the governments of the United States and Japan have
ever issued a joint statement concerning the Taiwan Strait in the half-century
US-Japanese alliance, diplomats said.
"It (the Taiwan Strait) is seldom, if at all, referred to in a formal
document," a US official acknowledged after the "2+2" meeting between US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and
Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and defense chief Yoshinori Ono.
They also urged China "to improve transparency of its military affairs," the
statement said.
The "two plus two" bilateral discussions were last held in December 2002.
Washington switched recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979 while Japan
ended its diplomatic ties with the island in 1972 to establish relations with
Beijing.
Beijing has been increasingly worried that Taiwan, under the leadership of
independence-leaning leader Chen Shui-bian, is inching towards a formal
breakaway.
Meanwhile, senior US and Japanese officials vowed to strengthen security and
defense cooperation, promising to intensify consultations on realignment of US
force structure in Japan.
"I can't think of a time when the relationship has been closer or more
constructive," US Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said at a news
conference.
The officials "underscored the need to continue examining the roles,
missions, and capabilities of Japan's Self Defense Forces and the US Armed
Forces required to respond effectively to diverse challenges in a
well-coordinated manner," the statement said. "The Ministers also emphasized the
importance of enhancing interoperability between US and Japanese forces," it
said.
The officials discussed the planned realignment of the nearly 50,000 US
forces in Japan, part of a global repositioning of US troops. "Both sides
confirmed their commitment to maintaining deterrence and capabilities of US
forces in Japan while reducing the burden on local
communities."
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