US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a veiled warning to China not to challenge Japan's control of disputed islands as Tokyo's new government vowed not to aggravate tensions.
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met with Clinton on the first trip by a top Japanese official since Japan's conservatives returned to power last month. Clinton announced that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would visit in February.
Amid signs that China is testing control control over virtually uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, Clinton said the area was under Japan's control and hence protected under a US security treaty with Tokyo.
"We oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine Japanese administration," Clinton told a joint news conference with Kishida.
Clinton did not mention Beijing directly in the warning, but said: "We want to see China and Japan resolve this matter peacefully through dialogue."
"We do not want to see any action taken by anyone that could raise tensions or result in miscalculation that would undermine the peace, security and economic growth in this region," she said.
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Remarks With Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida After Their Meeting
Full interview text is :
My extracta selection as below related "Senkaku Island";
SECRETARY CLINTON: ....On North Korea we shared our joint commitment to strong action in the UN Security Council. I also assured the Foreign Minister that we would continue to support Japan’s efforts to return Japanese citizens who have been abducted by the DPRK. With regard to regional security, I reiterated longstanding American policy on the Senkaku Islands and our treaty obligations. As I’ve said many times before, although the United States does not take a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands, we acknowledge they are under the administration of Japan and we oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine Japanese administration and we urge all parties to take steps to prevent incidents and manage disagreements through peaceful means.
We also discussed how we can do more to strengthen our already strong alliance. We discussed base realignment issues. We both want to reduce the impact of our bases on host communities while maintaining the ability to defend Japan’s territory and people and preserve stability and security. We are confident that we can make progress on force realignment in Okinawa, including moving ahead with construction of the Futenma replacement facility.
We also discussed the Trans-Pacific Partnership and we shared perspectives on Japan’s possible participation, because we think this holds out great economic opportunities to all participating nations.
We also covered an issue important to both of our nations’ people, the Hague Abduction Convention that allows parents to seek a lawful, timely, and just resolution when a child is abducted by the other parent. And we hope that there will be action in the upcoming session of the Diet to pass the necessary legislation.
Now, I am very pleased to announce that we have extended an invitation to Prime Minister Abe to come to Washington to meet with President Obama in the third week of February. And there will be a lot of work to do between now and then to ensure that this high-level summit is extremely successful for both of our governments and our nations. But again, Foreign Minister, thank you for making this very early trip here and for your continuing commitment to our alliance.
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FOREIGN MINISTER KISHIDA: Further, while Japan will not concede and will uphold our fundamental position that the Senkaku Islands are an inherent territory of Japan, we intend to respond calmly so as not to provoke China. I conveyed to Secretary Clinton that Japan very much values the commitment shown by the United States over the Senkaku Islands based on the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and the commitment that the United States will go against any unilateral action that will infringe upon the administration rights of Japan.
As for Japan’s ties with the ROK are concerned, I indicated our determination to further deepen our relationship with South Korea, taking the opportunity of birth of new governments in both Japan and South Korea.
On North Korea, we confirmed that close collaboration be continued between Japan and the United States, as well as between Japan, United States, and South Korea. Specifically referring to the missile launch last December, we agreed to continue with our close cooperation so that the United Nations Security Council takes effective measures as expeditiously as possible.
Further, I explained to the Secretary how seriously the new administration is taking with the abduction issue, and sought continued understanding and cooperation by the United States. Secretary Clinton responded by saying that the United States supports the resolution of the abduction problem.
Syria, Iran and other global challenges were raised at the table, and we confirmed the necessity to continue close collaboration on these issues as well.
Thank you for your kind attention.
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Question: ....I have a question to Secretary and Ministry. China is becoming ever more active in Senkaku Islands and the surrounding area. The missile launch by DPRK also manifests the ever more challenging situation and security environment in the region. In order to enhance the alliance between Japan and the United States, how do you intend to overcome the pending issues between the two countries, such as Futenma relocation, The Hague treaty, and TPP? And how do you intend to utilize the gains from this foreign ministerial meeting to the future of these two – the relationship between the two countries?
FOREIGN MINISTER KISHIDA: ....Then if I may take the floor, first of all, first and foremost, the security environment in the Asia Pacific region is becoming ever more challenging and difficult, and in order to ensure the peace and stability of the region, we not only need to closen ties in the areas of economy and security, but in all areas such as culture and people-to-people exchange to reinforce Japan-U.S. alliance.
On the security front, it is necessary that we further uplift the level of deterrence under the Japan-U.S. security regime. We will coordinate with the strategy of the United States, placing focus on the Asia Pacific to further enhance cooperation in this area.
On the economic front, both Japan and the United States place importance on promotion of free trade as well as cooperation in the area of energy. And today, I was able to confirm the importance of these points with Madam Secretary. On TPP, I have utilized this opportunity to communicate to Secretary Clinton the views be held by the new administration. We confirmed that Japan and the United States will continue to keeping close contact as we tackle this issue.
Further, on the security front, if I may add one other point related to security, on Futenma, Futenma should never become a permanent base. So under the policy of maintaining deterrence while at the same time reducing the impact on Okinawa, we will work together towards the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, based upon such policy.
Further, the following point was confirmed with Madam Clinton, and the signing of the Hague Convention is of great importance. The Government of Japan is intending to go through the necessary procedures for early signing of the treaty. By taking steady steps towards the implementation of these measures shall lead to further reinforcement of the Japan-U.S. relationship, and that, in turn, I believe, will lead to the stability and prosperity of the totality of the Asia-Pacific region.
On the occasion of the Prime Minister’s visit to the United States, we truly hope that his visits will be extremely productive in covering all of these areas, and Japan and the United States will continue to closely collaborate.
Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: ....Well, I will echo what the Minister said about the very extensive agenda that we will be working on to prepare for the summit meeting between the two leaders. There are so many issues of bilateral, regional, and global importance where the United States and Japan work together, cooperate, and we will have a full review of all of those important matters.
As I said at the outset, we certainly discussed the Senkaku Islands today. And I reiterated, as I have to our Chinese friends, that we want to see China and Japan resolve this matter peacefully through dialogue, and we applaud the early steps taken by Prime Minister Abe’s government to reach out and begin discussions. We want to see the new leaders, both in Japan and in China, get off to a good start with each other in the interest of the security of the entire region.
And we have also, as I said earlier, made clear that we do not want to see any action taken by anyone that could raise tensions or result in miscalculations that would undermine the peace, security, and economic growth in this region. So certainly, we are hopeful that there can be an ongoing consultation that will lower tensions, prevent escalation, and permit China and Japan to discuss the range of other issues on which they have important concerns.
Thank you all very much.
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