Japan told to be prudent over US alliance

The Defense Ministry yesterday warned that Japan's recent move to play up China's military threat and hints at strengthening the Japan-US alliance to counteract China's growing power will result in a deterioration in Beijing's trust in Tokyo.

Some Japanese politicians said recently that Japan's alliance with the United States would become even more important given China's rise as a military power and decided to hold discussions on the issue when amending its new defense guideline.

As Sino-Japanese defense ties have been developing positively, such remarks would definitely have a big impact on the countries mutual trust, said Senior Colonel Huang Xueping, the defense ministry's spokesman.

"I need to point out that the Japan-US alliance is a bilateral arrangement against a specific historical background, which should be limited strictly to the bilateral sphere and not target a third party," Huang said.

Zhou Yongsheng, a Japan studies professor with the China Foreign Affairs University, said the new defense guidelines reflect the fact that Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's pro-China attitude cannot outweigh a growing negative trend against China in the country.

"The new guideline sees China as a future threat, and that means Japan has basically returned to its old strategies," he said.

Besides there is a growing pro-US trend in Japan, no more than six months after it demanded an equal relationship with its ally, Zhou said.

Hatoyama has shouldered pressure from both inside and outside his party, which has resulted in the policy changes with regards both China and the US, he explained.

Japanese-US ties will continue to be in the spotlight as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the US-Japan security treaty, but it will be to a limited degree, Zhou added.

"It is more of a format continuation, rather than content renewal."

(China Daily 02/26/2010 page11)