WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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Minister says Japan-US ties have new importance
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-16 09:15 TOKYO: Japan's alliance with the United States will become even more important with China's rise as a military power, Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said yesterday, dismissing concerns that ties could weaken.
Zhou Yongsheng, an expert on Japanese studies with China Foreign Affairs University, said Kitazawa's statement shows the DPJ's shift from idealism to realism after getting elected. It also shows that DPJ, as a ruling party, is still adjusting its policy, Zhou said, which reflects its vision of Japan's future and its role in Asia. US efforts to improve relations with Beijing have also sparked concerns about whether its alliance with Japan, whose own ties with Beijing have often been fraught, could be undermined. Yesterday, China said it is ready to enhance coordination and cooperation with the US on Asia-Pacific affairs. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said China is willing to see the United States have a constructive role in regional peace, stability and development. Ma said Asia-Pacific regional cooperation is the inevitable outcome of economic globalization and regional integration. In Japan, Kitazawa reaffirmed the importance of the relationship with Washington a week ahead of a visit by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and less than a month before US President Barack Obama visits both Japan and China. "It is true that China is building up its navy and air force. But their intentions are not clear to us," Kitazawa said. "As China increases its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, there may be countries that feel threatened. In that sense, the value of the Japan-US alliance will actually increase." A range of security issues, from US bases on the island of Okinawa to Japan's likely withdrawal from a naval refueling mission backing US forces in Afghanistan, have caused disquiet ahead of the alliance's 50th anniversary next year. Little change foreseen Kitazawa said changes to the relationship would be minor. "Some details may have changed, but for the most part we want to improve what we already have," he said of the alliance. The US-Japan joint ballistic missile defense program will, for example, be largely unchanged, he said. US officials have also maintained an upbeat tone on ties since the Democratic Party of Japan won a landslide election victory in August. "Overall, we are very confident that our relationship between the United States and Japan will continue to be a cornerstone of our engagement in the Asia-Pacific region," US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters in Beijing this week. "I see a really healthy revitalization." Some analysts say changes are to be welcomed. "The relationship will be renegotiated, modernized and will be healthier and even stronger over the long term," Steve Clemons of US think tank New America Foundation said in a recent essay. Kitazawa said this week that Japan would withdraw its ships from an Indian Ocean refueling mission when its legal mandate expires, although no final decision has been made. He said yesterday the mission was highly unlikely to re-start, but denied Japan was returning to what critics call "checkbook diplomacy", or providing cash rather than personnel to back US military activities. "It's a mistake to call it 'checkbook diplomacy' - it is the diplomacy of the heart," he said. Reuters-Xinhua-China Daily |
