Inquiry Line (Signal only)

Live Broadcast

China Assails U.S. Pledge to Defend Disputed Islands Controlled by Japan

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Pocket
WhatsApp

BEIJING — China reacted with strong displeasure on Saturday to a promise by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that the United States would defend two uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that

“>Japan controls but China also claims as its own.

Mr. Mattis, the first member of President Trump’s cabinet to visit East Asia, had told Japanese officials earlier Saturday that America’s defense obligations to Japan extended to the disputed rocky outposts, known in China as the Diaoyu and in Japan as the Senkaku.

The chief spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, Lu Kang, accused Mr. Mattis of putting regional stability at risk and urged him to forgo what he called a Cold War mentality.

“We urge the U.S. side to take a responsible attitude, stop making wrong remarks on the issue involving the Diaoyu islands’ sovereignty, and avoid making the issue more complicated and bringing instability to the regional situation,” Mr. Lu said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website.

BEIJING — China reacted with strong displeasure on Saturday to a promise by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that the United States would defend two uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that Japan controls but China also claims as its own.

Mr. Mattis, the first member of President Trump’s cabinet to visit East Asia, had told Japanese officials earlier Saturday that America’s defense obligations to Japan extended to the disputed rocky outposts, known in China as the Diaoyu and in Japan as the Senkaku.

The chief spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, Lu Kang, accused Mr. Mattis of putting regional stability at risk and urged him to forgo what he called a Cold War mentality.

“We urge the U.S. side to take a responsible attitude, stop making wrong remarks on the issue involving the Diaoyu islands’ sovereignty, and avoid making the issue more complicated and bringing instability to the regional situation,” Mr. Lu said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website.

He described the 1960 defense treaty between the United States and Japan, which Mr. Mattis cited in pledging to defend the islands, as a “product of the Cold War, which should not impair China’s territorial sovereignty and legitimate rights.”

Mr. Mattis was not staking out a new American position; while in office, President Barack Obama said that the United States would defend the islands.

But the defense secretary’s words were reassuring to Japanese officials, who had been unnerved by Mr. Trump’s remarks as a presidential candidate suggesting that he might reduce America’s military commitments to its Asian allies.

The disputed islands have been among a number of potential points of contention as China builds up its presence in the East and South China Seas.

Chinese and Japanese vessels regularly maneuver at close quarters in the waters as China tries to challenge Japan’s control of the islands.

Last year, China sent a warship to within 24 miles of the islands. President Xi Jinping of China declared much of the East China Sea to be a Chinese air defense zone in 2013, and since then China has regularly sent fighter jets to patrol the area.

At a news conference in Tokyo, Mr. Mattis cited Article 5 of the United States-Japan treaty, which commits the United States to defend Japan or territories that it administers against attack.

“I made clear that our longstanding policy on the Senkaku Islands stands — the U.S. will continue to recognize Japanese administration of the islands,” Mr. Mattis said. “And as such, Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan security treaty applies.”

Before going to Japan, Mr. Mattis went to South Korea to offer assurances to that ally about defense commitments, and China’s reaction was similar.

Mr. Lu struck a strident tone on Friday in expressing China’s opposition to American plans to deploy a missile defense system in South Korea, one that Mr. Mattis said was intended to protect the country from North Korea’s nuclear threat.

“We firmly oppose” the deployment, Mr. Lu said at a regular news briefing. “This will not change and has not changed.” The system, which China says is an American attempt to interfere with China’s nuclear deterrent, “will undermine the strategic balance,” he said.

China has threatened South Korea with economic consequences if it agrees to the deployment of the system, known as Thaad, which stands for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.

Please verify you’re not a robot by clicking the box.

Invalid email address. Please re-enter.

You must select a newsletter to subscribe to.

Thank you for subscribing.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

View all New York Times newsletters.

With the South Korean government in disarray and a presidential election coming there, the Chinese government has been wooing the opposition Minjoo Party, which opposes the Thaad deployment.

Officials of that left-leaning party have visited Beijing twice in recent months, offering reassurances that they oppose the system.

While Mr. Mattis was in Tokyo on Friday, China’s top foreign policy official, Yang Jiechi, spoke by telephone with Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

The conversation, which the ministry said was initiated by the White House, appeared to be a preparatory step for a call between Mr. Xi and Mr. Trump.

The ministry’s account of the conversation was upbeat. Mr. Flynn said the United States was committed to “developing strong and powerful U.S.-China relations” and “properly managing the sensitive issues,” the ministry said. For his part, Mr. Yang emphasized the two countries’ “broad common interests and great cooperation potential,” according to the ministry.

Mr. Trump criticized China on a variety of fronts during the presidential transition, but the White House has had little to say about the country during the president’s first two weeks in office.

And although Mr. Trump has held phone conversations from the Oval Office, several of them stormy, with a variety of world leaders, Mr. Xi has not been among them.

There has been speculation among diplomats in Beijing and among American business groups in Washington that the two leaders would talk by phone in the coming days.

Mr. Yang and Mr. Flynn last spoke in New York, a month after the presidential election, and from Mr. Yang’s point of view the meeting was not helpful.

Just two days later, Mr. Trump astounded the Chinese government by asserting that the One China policy, under which the United States recognizes the government of Beijing and not Taiwan, was far from sacrosanct.

“I don’t know why we have to be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade,” Mr. Trump said on Fox News.

Although there was no indication that Mr. Trump was reacting to anything Mr. Yang had said to Mr. Flynn, the episode was embarrassing for the Chinese official so soon after their meeting.

Earlier in December, Mr. Trump upended decades of American diplomatic practice by speaking with Taiwan’s president by telephone. The Chinese have since stressed on several occasions that the One China policy is not negotiable.

The Foreign Ministry’s statement on the conversation on Friday between Mr. Yang and Mr. Flynn did not say whether the two had discussed Taiwan, only that they had discussed regional affairs.

We’re interested in your feedback on this page. Tell us what you think.

Original Source

Facebook Comments
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Pocket
WhatsApp

Never miss any important news. Subscribe to our newsletter.

Recent News

Follow Radio Biafra on Twitter

Editor's Pick