 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Japan Likely To Move Closer To China Says Rice
New York (AFP) Sep 26, 2006 Under just-appointed conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan will likely "start to move" closer to China, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview. "I think that you will see Prime Minister Abe try to make some improvements and I think the Chinese will be receptive to that," Rice told The New York Post on Monday. Rice said Japan and China "don't lack contacts" through regional fora, and recently agreed to settle a border dispute in the South China Sea. "It may sound like a minor matter, but it's not," Rice said referring to the joint efforts on demarcation, which she said "would be a very big step forward, actually, for them." Asked if Japan's likely constitutional reform would lead the country to seek nuclear weapons under the new prime minister, Rice, in a transcript of the interview provided by the State Department, said she was unconcerned. "I do not think we're headed in that direction with Japan. I think there are a lot of self-regulating reasons for Japan to remain non-nuclear," she said, stressing that Japan was "very concerned about the North Korean (nuclear) issue and its proliferation activities." One of the reasons the six-party talks "was so important for controlling the nuclear ambitions of North Korea because it has Japan at the table with China, with the United States, with Russia (and South Korea), and I think then forestalls any further nuclearization of the region," she added. Rice said "the Japanese will have to decide" what their new constitution should say, adding that the United States has been strengthening US-Japan defense cooperation "quite dramatically over the last couple of years." Outspoken conservative Shinzo Abe on Tuesday became Japan's youngest prime minister and the first leader born after World War II, replacing veteran Junichiro Koizumi. The 52-year-old Abe, who has vowed to rewrite the US-imposed 1947 pacifist constitution, on Monday picked Nakagawa to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Nakagawa is a fellow conservative but also has close connections to China. He has said he will try to repair relations soured by Koizumi's visits to a controversial war shrine, which is seen as a symbol of Tokyo's militarist past.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Blair Urges No Retreat From United States Foreign Policy Posture
Manchester (UPI) Sep 26, 2006British Prime Minister Tony Blair mounted a staunch defense of his foreign policy at his last Labor Party conference as leader, urging his successor to continue his close alliance with the United States. But with anti-American public and political sentiment on the rise, it is doubtful whether his advice will be heeded. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
