China warned yesterday that increasing US-Japan military cooperation should be strictly bilateral and not encompass Beijing's arch-rival Taiwan.
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (
"Any part of putting Taiwan directly or indirectly into the scope of Japan-US security cooperation constitutes an encroachment on China's sovereignty and interference in China's internal affairs," Li said. "The Chinese government and people are firmly against such activities."
During a wide-ranging press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress, Li characterized the military pact between Japan and the US as a "bilateral arrangement" that came about during the Cold War.
Such a relationship, Li warned, should be "strictly restricted" to a bilateral nature, adding that any expansion of the alliance could cause problems in the region.
"If it goes beyond the bilateral scope, definitely it would arouse uneasiness on the part of Asian countries and bring about complicated factors to the regional security situation," Li said.
Beijing has been increasingly wary of Washington and Tokyo's close strategic partnership.
The Taiwan issue was the "most sensitive" and core issue facing Sino-US ties, he said.
China last month voiced strong opposition to a US and Japanese statement which described Taiwan as a common security issue, slamming the allies' move as "inappropriate."
Washington and Tokyo jointly urged China, which has over 600 missiles amassed opposite Taiwan, "to improve transparency of its military affairs."
Regarding relations with Japan, Li said present ties with Tokyo should be "cherished" as they have come through "long-term and arduous efforts," but Tokyo must "properly" handle its relations with Taiwan and back down from its claims to the disputed Senkaku, or Tiaoyu Islands, in the East China Sea.
The long-standing territorial dispute has recently been at the center of noisy anti-Japanese protests in China, as well as in Hong Kong, but Li said China hoped to resolve the dispute through dialogue.
"China has indisputable, historical and legal sovereignty over the Tiaoyu Island and the adjacent islands," Li said.
"No glib words or tricky action can change this fact nor can it be changed by any unilateral action by any foreign country," he said in apparent reference to the recent building of structures by Japan on the islands.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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