Posted on 02/19/2005 11:10:45 PM PST by HAL9000
Beijing Feb.20 -- 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."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.
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."
Now if only Japan and Taiwan could link up their water boundaries.
Nah... who'd a thunk China would oppose it?
Taiwan is NOT another Hong Kong. The chinese would like to think so. Who was the brainiac that let the chinese have HK, anyhow?
I believe that was the British.
Hong Kong's infrastructure e.g. water supply is dependent on the PRC. Hence, the Brits did not have much leverage. However, Taiwan aint HK and the US aint the UK.
Taiwan could not ask for two tougher team members than the two on the left in the photo above.
China has been asking for an up-yours for decades vis-a-vis Taiwan.
Barring Hitlery-2008, it will get it.
There have been two developments this week in foreign policy that suggest that dumping Colin Powell was a good thing for this country. Finally a statement has been issued supporting Taiwan. It's been a long time since we have heard anything like this. And there was also a statement about supporting Israel if Iran attacked her, wasn't that the gist of it?
Talk about a BARF ALERT! HA!
Please refrain from doing things that affect peace and stability in Asia and Pacific while we threaten Taiwan if they ever declare independence, fire missiles and hold naval exercises geared toward an invasion in the Taiwan Straits, etc.
The British 99 year lease ran out. But I always wondered why that meant that Hong Kong had to revert to Chinese rule. I think a place belongs to the people who live there.
Wasn't that about supporting Israel if Israel attacked the Iranian nuke projects?
Seems kind of short-sighted. They should have been building desalination plants long before that in anticipation of the turnover.
I'll bet China is working on creative new ways to funnel money to the Hildabeast's campaign chest.
In 1997 a Chinese Communist official cited the speeches of HRC as textbook examples of propaganda.
China has become a world player.
Yep, it's distressing, but deal with it.
a) The price of oil is stuck in the $40's per bbl because there is now another net importer country growing at 10% GDP with a billion people, and it only gets worse from here...
b) Our national debt is financed by other countries making ivestments ... and sleep well tonight knowing it is mostly Saudi and Chinese money ...
c) Whilst we try to democratize the Mid-east (which I support BTW), China is quietly befriending our neighbors in the Carribean and Latin America.
THAT IS THE REAL SCANDAL! that nobody sees. Ronald Reagan once boasted that (paraphrasing) "not one inch of soil has fallen under communist control."
OK, I'll stop babbling, but, please don't ask the rhetorical question if I'd rather be a resident of Taiwan or Caracas right now.
Well, OK, that's easy. You stay with your friends come hell or high water ...
"I think a place belongs to the people who live there."
This is especially true in the case of Taiwan. In the past 110 years Taiwan and Mainland China have only been under the same government for 4 years and this is being extremely generous because during the period from 1945-1949 there was really no effective government of China since the country was in the midst of a civil war. During the 230 years prior to this there was only about 10 years that China (under the Ching dynasty) really made any effort to develop Taiwan. Other than Taiwan was at best ignored. In all of China's history with Taiwan, the people of that Island have gotten nothing positive from the Mainland: the were negelected and mistreated by the Ching and then later traded off to Japan for peace, they were abused and suppressed by the KMT, and they are currently being threatened by the PRC. The people of Taiwan have more than earned their right to choose their own future without threats of intimidation.
I feel that we should be behind Taiwan %110, and tell China to go shove it.
But I worry that we’re just using this as leverage to get China to lean heavily on North Korea; and then back off.
I agree. Taiwan is its own country and any attack by china will be met with swift retaliation.
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