WORLD
U.S. stands by Japan on island dispute with China
Baku, January 21 (AZERTAC). U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a veiled warning Friday 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.
Amid signs that China is testing control over virtually uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, Clinton said the area was under Japan`s administration and hence protected under a U.S. 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.
The United States insists it is neutral on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands—known as the Senkaku in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese—but that they are under the de facto administration of Japan.
China has repeatedly criticized the U.S. position and sent maritime surveillance ships to the potentially gas-rich area, a move that experts see as a way to contest the notion that Japan holds effective control.
Abe has been known throughout his career as a hawk on national security. But Kishida took a measured tone on China while in Washington, describing the relationship with Beijing as “one of the most important” for Japan.