China warns Japan on US defence pact

BEIJING, May 26: China today demanded an explanation from the Japanese Government on the scope of its revised defence pact with the United S...

BEIJING, May 26: China today demanded an explanation from the Japanese Government on the scope of its revised defence pact with the United States and warned that Beijing will not brook any wanton interference on the Taiwan issue.

Reacting angrily to the recent statement of a senior Japanese official who said the US-Japan defence pact would also cover Taiwan, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said, “The Chinese side has made solemn representations with the Japanese side and has asked the Japanese Government to make an explicit clarification.”

Expressing “grave concern” and “strong indignation” at the statement, Zhu said the Chinese Government’s stand on Taiwan is “firm” and “unshakable” and Beijing will not tolerate outside interference in its internal affairs.

He said the latest statement by the Japanese official not only violated the Sino-Japanese friendship treaty but also the assurances given by senior Japanese leaders to their Chinese counterparts.

Urging Tokyo to “actwith caution” with regard to the US-Japan defence agreement, the spokesman pointed out that any expansion on the scope of the US-Japan defence pact will not improve Sino-Japanese relations.

Experts say Beijing fears the US-Japan defence pact is aimed at “containing” China and it also proposes to protect Taiwan in the case of a Chinese military action against the island, which Beijing regards as a renagade province.

Japan and the US agreed last September on the revised version of the 1978 bilateral defence cooperation guidelines. The new version calls for Japan to provide more active support to the US military in the event of emergencies in “areas surrounding Japan”.

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Senior US officials including secretary of state Madeleine Albright and defence secretary William Cohen have stated that the US-Japan defence pact did not target a third country or China and its running dispute with Taiwan over the island’s sovereignty.

“What these guidelines do not do is seek to isolate any nation in the region. Onthe contrary, they are designed to expand stability for the benefit of all nations,” Cohen said in Beijing earlier this year.

Senior Japanese officials too have sought to mollify the Chinese side by stating that the term “areas surrounding Japan” was not a geographical expression.

This was amply clear when today the official China Daily lashed out at Japan for posing new threats to Asia’s security.

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“China has always kept a watchful eye on the US-Japan military allaince,” it said while pointing out that Beijing is concerned that the defence accord between Japan and the US is directed at China and might infringe upon China’s sovereignty over Taiwan.