WASHINGTON (AFX) - Japan and the United States on Sunday will declare in a joint agreement that the Taiwan Strait is a "common strategic objective," The Washington Post said citing a draft of the document it obtained.
The agreement will be announced after US Secretaries of State, Condoleezza Rice, and of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, meet their Japanese counterparts in Washington tomorrow, the daily said in its article dated in Tokyo.
"This is the first time that Japan has made its stance clear; in the past, Japan has been very indirect on the Taiwan issue," said Koh Se-kai, Taiwan's special representative to Japan. "We're relieved that Japan has become more assertive."
Japan has had formal relations with China since 1972, but not with Taiwan.
There was no immediate reaction from China, which considers Taiwan a renegade part of its territory and strongly opposes any move towards its independence.
China has threatened to use military force if Taiwan ever formally declares independence and yesterday condemned a proposed resolution in the US congress demanding resumption of diplomatic ties with the island -- Washington officially recognizes mainland China.
The agreement to be announced at the weekend, declaring the Taiwan Strait a "common strategic objective" of Washington and Tokyo, is the most significant alteration since 1996 of the US-Japanese Security Alliance, the daily said.
"It would be wrong for us to send a signal to China that the United States and Japan will watch and tolerate China's military invasion of Taiwan," said Shinzo Abe, the acting secretary general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party who is widely considered a likely successor to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
"If the situation surrounding Japan threatens our security, Japan can provide US forces with support," he added.
"We consider China a friendly country, but it is also unpredictable," an unidentified senior Japanese government official was quoted as saying in The Washington Post.
"If it takes aggressive action, Japan cannot just stand by and watch," he added.
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The agreement will be announced after US Secretaries of State, Condoleezza Rice, and of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, meet their Japanese counterparts in Washington tomorrow, the daily said in its article dated in Tokyo.
"This is the first time that Japan has made its stance clear; in the past, Japan has been very indirect on the Taiwan issue," said Koh Se-kai, Taiwan's special representative to Japan. "We're relieved that Japan has become more assertive."
Japan has had formal relations with China since 1972, but not with Taiwan.
There was no immediate reaction from China, which considers Taiwan a renegade part of its territory and strongly opposes any move towards its independence.
China has threatened to use military force if Taiwan ever formally declares independence and yesterday condemned a proposed resolution in the US congress demanding resumption of diplomatic ties with the island -- Washington officially recognizes mainland China.
The agreement to be announced at the weekend, declaring the Taiwan Strait a "common strategic objective" of Washington and Tokyo, is the most significant alteration since 1996 of the US-Japanese Security Alliance, the daily said.
"It would be wrong for us to send a signal to China that the United States and Japan will watch and tolerate China's military invasion of Taiwan," said Shinzo Abe, the acting secretary general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party who is widely considered a likely successor to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
"If the situation surrounding Japan threatens our security, Japan can provide US forces with support," he added.
"We consider China a friendly country, but it is also unpredictable," an unidentified senior Japanese government official was quoted as saying in The Washington Post.
"If it takes aggressive action, Japan cannot just stand by and watch," he added.
fgf/pvh/swp
For more information and to contact AFX: www.afxnews.com and www.afxpress.com
© 2005 AFX News
