U.S. defense chief backs Japan-China reconciliation over war past
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Saturday the United States would back any move by Japan and China to mend their animosity over their World War II past.
”The United States would be very supportive of efforts related to reconciliation between Japan and China” though it is really ”a matter for those two sovereign nations to address,” he said at a high-level forum on Asia-Pacific security in Singapore.
Gates made the remarks in response to a question from Singaporean Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh at the three-day annual conference in Singapore known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.
Koh, who was in the audience, had noted that some commentators have said any reconciliation between China and Japan is unlikely to take place without Washington’s blessing.
Earlier in his speech, Gates said the six-party process on the North Korean nuclear weapons issue has had ”a stabilizing effect” and that ”a mechanism is in place to deal with the longstanding problem of North Korea’s behavior and ambitions.”
Pointing to the agreement forged in February among the six — North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia — on initial steps for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, he said, ”Although the North Koreans have not yet followed through on their commitments, the fact remains that agreements are now in place that will permit resolution of the issue.”
Gates expressed concern about China’s growing military buildup. ”We are concerned about the opaqueness of Beijing’s military spending and modernization programs,” he said.
The U.S. defense chief said Washington is not neglecting Asia despite its heavy commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq, and even described the United States as an ”Asian power.”
He said the United States is working closely with Asian countries to deal with terrorist threats and making efforts to stem the proliferation of dangerous weapons and secure safer maritime security. Washington is planning to do more to help the region to cope with disasters and epidemics.
Defense ministers and military chiefs from more than 20 countries, including Australia, Britain, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea, are attending the meeting, organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.