The Daily Tribune
Written by AFP
Written by AFP
TOKYO — China and other Asian countries could end up at war over territorial disputes if governments keep up their “provocative behavior,” US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta yesterday said.
Speaking to reporters before arriving in Tokyo on a trip to Asia, Panetta appealed for restraint amid mounting tensions over territorial rights in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
“I am concerned that when these countries engage in provocations of one kind or another over these various islands, that it raises the possibility that a misjudgment on one side or the other could result in violence, and could result in conflict,” Panetta said, when asked about a clash between Japan and China.
“And that conflict would then have the potential of expanding.”
The Pentagon chief’s trip coincides with an escalating row between Asia’s two largest economies over an archipelago in the East China Sea administered by Tokyo under the name Senkaku and claimed by China under the name Diaoyu.
Tensions have steadily mounted since pro-Beijing activists were arrested and deported after landing on one of the islands in August. Japanese nationalists then followed, raising their flag on the same island days later.
On Tuesday, Japan announced it had nationalized three of the islands in the chain, triggering protests in China. Tokyo already owns another and leases the fifth.
The uninhabited islands are in important sea lanes and the seabed nearby is thought to harbor valuable mineral resources.
Sometimes violent demonstrations have been held in China near diplomatic missions in the days since Tokyo’s announcement, although there have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries.
Hong Kong broadcaster Cable TV showed footage of clashes Sunday in Shenzhen between riot police and demonstrators, with some holding a banner calling for a “bloodbath” in Tokyo.
Panetta said he and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “both strongly urge that these countries — rather than engaging in that provocative behavior — engage in an effort to find ways to peacefully resolve these kind of issues”.
Panetta is due to hold talks on Monday with his Japanese counterpart where the dispute is expected to top the agenda before heading to China and then on to New Zealand.
He predicted economic rivalry would lead to more feuds in the future over potentially resource-rich areas in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We’re going to face more of this. Countries are searching for resources,” he said, adding: “There’s got to be a peaceful way to resolve these issues.”
“What we don’t want is to have any kind of provocative behaviour on the part of China or anybody else result in conflict.”
“What we don’t want is to have any kind of provocative behaviour on the part of China or anybody else result in conflict.”
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea also have Washington worried, as China has refused to withdraw claims to virtually all of the strategic waterway and has been accused of bullying smaller states in the area.
The Philippines and Vietnam have alleged Beijing has used intimidation to push its claims in the South China Sea, through which around half of the world’s cargo passes.
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RELATED STORY:
Panetta tours Asia to advance ‘pivot’ by Pentagon to Pacific region
By Kristina Wong
The Washington Times
The Washington Times
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta (center)
steps off his jet after arriving at Yokota Air
Base on the outskirts of Tokyo on Sunday,
Sept. 16, 2012. Mr. Panetta is in Japan as
part of an Asian tour, which includes stops
in China and New Zealand.
(AP Photo/Larry Downing, Pool)
TOKYO | Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has traveled to Asia to “rebalance” the U.S. military’s focus on the Pacific region, which includes shifting much of its naval fleet, expanding joint exercises with regional allies, and deploying forces to Australia and Southeast Asia.
“The rebalance is really about maintaining and strengthening not just our presence, but also maintaining and strengthening a system of rules and institutions in Asia that have brought decades of security and prosperity to the region, and have allowed many nations to thrive,” Mr. Panetta told reporters traveling with him to Japan.
He will meet with officials in Japan and New Zealand, as well as Chinese leaders to try to convince them that the Pentagon’s “pivot to Asia” does not seek to contain China’s rising power.
“The purpose is to deepen our [military-to-military] relationship and engagement, and talk about the rebalance with my Chinese counterparts, recognize the challenges that we have in the relationship, recognize often times the differences that we may have, but I think it is in both our nations’ interest to work toward a healthy, stable, reliable and continuous military-to-military relationship,” Mr. Panetta said.
It’s a delicate balance the secretary has to strike amid heightened tensions between China and Japan over Japan’s purchase last week of a group of islands from a private owner that the Chinese also claim is theirs.
The trip was not timed to coincide with the dispute, which likely will be one of many topics of discussion during Mr. Panetta’s 10-day visit to the three countries.
“As you know, the United States does not take a position with regard to territorial disputes, but we do urge not just China but the other countries that are involved to engage in a process in which they can peacefully resolve these issues,” Mr. Panetta said.
It will be Mr. Panetta’s first visit to China as defense secretary and follows Chinese Minister of National Defense Gen. Liang Guanglie’s visit to the Pentagon in May.
This is Mr. Panetta’s third trip to the region in less than a year, illustrating the region’s growing importance to the U.S. The new defense strategy unveiled early this year emphasized the need to rebalance its focus and resources to the Asia-Pacific region, where China is rapidly building its military capabilities and becoming more aggressive in defending territorial claims.
“The United States recognizes that the Asia-Pacific region is becoming more important in our economic and diplomatic and security interests,” the Pentagon chief said.
Mr. Panetta arrived in Japan on Sunday, and met with Japanese Foreign Minister Gemba Koichi and his counterpart, Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto, and visited with about 350 U.S. personnel serving at the Yokota Air Base.
The next stop is Beijing on Monday, where he will spend three days, meeting with Gen. Guanglie as well as other senior military and civilian officials, and visit the army’s Armored Engineering Academy and meet midgrade and junior officers.
The defense secretary will make his final stop in Auckland, New Zealand, on Thursday, where he will meet with Defense Minister Jonathan Coleman, Foreign Minister Murry McCully, and lay a wreath at the World War II Hall of Memories to honor troops who died in Afghanistan as part of the NATO force there.
It will mark the first visit to New Zealand by a U.S. defense secretary since 1982, and follows Mr. Coleman’s visit to Washington in June, where he and Mr. Panetta signed a framework for expanding bilateral defense cooperation.
“They are, in my experience, a very steadfast and a very valued partner to the United States, and we deeply appreciate the role that they’ve played in Afghanistan and the sacrifices that they’ve made,” Mr. Panetta said of New Zealand’s troops. “They’ve had some recent deaths that have taken place there.”
“At the same time, they are committed to a strong and continuing role in Afghanistan. The purpose of my trip there is to see what opportunities exist to try to deepen our defense cooperation,” he said.
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