China urges US, Japan to abandon Cold War mentality, respect others
Print Edition
CHINA yesterday expressed grave concerns over a joint statement released by the United States and Japan, urging the two countries to discard their Cold War mindset and respect the interests and concerns of other countries in the region.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement late yesterday that it has lodged complaints with the US and Japanese ambassadors in Beijing over the statement.
“We urge the United States and Japan to abandon their Cold War mentality, and respect the concerns and interests of other countries in the region, and avoid further interference with regional peace and stability,” ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a separate briefing.
“It will be detrimental to the proper solution of relevant issues and the stability of the region to make indiscreet criticisms or remarks on the affairs of other countries,” Qin said.
The US and Japan issued the statement yesterday, as US President Barack Obama wrapped up a state visit to Japan during which he assured Tokyo of support from Washington.
Obama on Thursday assured Japan that the US was committed to coming to its defense, including of the Diaoyu Islands at the heart of a row with China, but denied he had drawn any new “red line” and urged peaceful dialogue over the dispute.
Yesterday’s joint statement echoed those comments and put in writing a long-held US stance that the Diaoyu in the East China Sea are covered by a security treaty that obliges the US to defend Japan, where it has a number of military bases.
The allies also said they wanted to build productive ties with China but expressed concern about its Air Defense Identification Zone covering the Diaoyu isles, announced last year.
“Our two countries oppose any attempt to assert territorial or maritime claims through the use of intimidation, coercion or force,” the statement said.
The diplomatic challenge for Obama during his regional tour is to convince Asian partners that the US is serious about its promised strategic pivot, without harming ties with China.
Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had been seeking to show that the alliance was strong in the face of a rising China. But their success in putting recent strains behind them was marred by a failure to reach a deal seen as crucial to a broader regional trade pact.
That failure delayed the joint statement on security and economic ties until shortly before Obama left for Seoul, the next stop on his tour.
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