US President Barack Obama confirmed yesterday that the US’ mutual security treaty with Japan applies to the islands at the center of a territorial dispute between China and Japan.
“The policy of the United States is clear,” he said in a written response to questions published in the Yomiuri Shimbun before his arrival in Tokyo at the start of a four-country Asia tour.
“The Senkaku Islands are administered by Japan” and therefore fall under the US-Japan treaty, he wrote. “And we oppose any unilateral attempts to undermine Japan’s administration of these islands.”
Photo: Reuters
His statement seems aimed at reassuring Japan that the US would come to its defense if China were to seize the islands, known in Taiwan as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and in China as the Diaoyu Archipelago (釣魚群島).
Russia’s annexation of Crimea has sparked concern about the US’ political will to protect Asian allies, notably in Japan and the Philippines.
A Chinese government spokesman responded that China has “indisputable sovereignty” over the islands, and said “the so-called Japan-US alliance” should not harm China’s territorial rights.
“We firmly oppose applying the Japan-US security treaty in the issue of the Diaoyu Islands,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) said at a regular briefing.
“The US should respect facts, take a responsible attitude, remain committed to not taking sides on territory and sovereignty issues, speak and act cautiously, and earnestly play a constructive role in regional peace and stability,” he added.
Obama told the Yomiuri the US is deepening its ties with China, but “our engagement with China does not and will not come at the expense of Japan or any other ally.”
He said the US will continue to take steps to reduce the impact of its military presence in Okinawa, but added: “It’s important to remember that the US Marine Corps presence on Okinawa is absolutely critical to our mutual security. It plays a key role in the defense of Japan.”
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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