Posted on 05/15/2005 1:01:54 AM PDT by nickcarraway
The Japanese and Chinese governments have started talks on constructing a series of small facilities around China to dismantle chemical weapons abandoned by the Japanese Imperial Army at the end of World War II, Japanese government sources said Saturday.
The facilities will be separate from a large plant already planned in the Haerbaling district of Jilin Province.
The government judged it necessary to locate the facilities throughout China to safely and efficiently dismantle chemical weapons dotted across the country.
The government plans to start construction of the Haerbaling plant this summer, the sources said.
The two governments held meetings with specialists in Beijing from April 25-28, and agreed to consider building small facilities near 12 sites storing abandoned chemical weapons in cities including Qiqihaer, Harbin, Beijing and Nanjing.
About 37,000 chemical weapons have been unearthed and recovered, mainly in northeastern China.
Initially, the government planned to dismantle all the chemical weapons at the Haerbaling plant, near the border with North Korea.
But when Chinese people raised concerns about the danger of transporting the weapons over long distances, the government devised a plan to decommission the weapons in smaller facilities and then transport them to the Haerbaling plant for final dismantling.
The government estimates that about 90 percent of abandoned chemical weapons are buried in Haerbaling.
The Haerbaling plant will have facilities to collect, store and incinerate the weapons as well as facilities for guards, firefighters and accommodation for workers.
Japan will shoulder the cost and the government will earmark 78 billion yen for the project by fiscal 2008.
Though the government had intended to construct the Haerbaling plant by the end of fiscal 2004, the plan was delayed by differences in the two countries' legal systems and a series of complicated negotiations with concerned parties in China.
A recent discovery of more abandoned chemical weapons caused concern in the government, with one official saying, "With Japan-China relations strained, it may fuel anti-Japanese sentiment if more chemical weapons are found."
But senior officials said the government would take a forward-looking approach to dismantling the abandoned weapons.
"If Japan takes on the dismantling work using its technology and financial resources, relations with China will no doubt improve," a senior official said.
The Japanese Imperial Army left chemical weapons in China at the end of World War II. The weapons included mustard gas, a highly poisonous blistering agent, and phosgene, a severe respiratory irritant.
A Japanese report estimates that about 700,000 chemical weapons are still in China. Weapons experts fear that the weapons have been badly corroded and leaking chemical agents may have polluted the soil.
Under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, Japan is obliged to dismantle all chemical weapons abandoned in China by the Japanese Imperial Army.
"Under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, Japan is obliged to dismantle all chemical weapons abandoned in China by the Japanese Imperial Army"
--> How can they be obligated when it happened before the 1997 Chemical Weapons C. ? It happened under a different type of government japan had back then right?, and also the "obligation" wasn't written up until 1997. Is there a statute of limitations and is the current japanese government being forced to pay or did they say they would do it when the '97 obligations were written up?
Ok just thought i'd throw some questions out there because i'd be interested in learning more.
In case you have not been paying attention to history for the last ten years, a non-left leaning country is responsible for anything that it has ever done any time in its history.
Hiya Rodney,
Actually, I snoozed through most my life when i was younger. Now that i'm older ~30, i just got into politics and am trying to learn as much as i can to catch up, that's why i'm askin :) I'm your typical american kid now grown up and interested in the way our country runs (and try to keep it running right), also now i must catch up on my history, that's why all the questions on this particular subject. Also thanks for your short and precise answer, right to the point.
Here's what happened while everybody was sleeping:
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b2c5c2a6036.htm
When you get done with that, see here:
http://taor.agitator.dynip.com/on_law.htm
Thank you for the links, I will print them out in the morning to read when i get home. Thanks, now i'll be a smarter person.
Thanks, for these two posts. :)
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