China Urges Japan to Deploy 'Discreet' Forces Abroad

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 06, 2002

China Urges Japan to Deploy 'Discreet' Forces Abroad

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China on Thursday urged Japan to discreetly handle the issue of sending an Aegis-equipped warship into the Indian Ocean.

"For historical reasons, sending troops overseas by Japan has always been a sensitive issue and draws concern from relevant Asian countries," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a routine news briefing.

Liu said China hoped that Japan would sincerely abide by its commitments to limit its defense power to its own territory and coastal waters, continue to stay on the track of peaceful development and discreetly handle the issue of sending forces abroad.

The spokesman made these remarks when asked about China comments on Japan's deployment of its warship to support US forces in combating terrorist forces. The Aegis is an advanced computerized defense command system.

DPRK Nuclear Issue

China hopes the issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) nuclear weapons program will be resolved peacefully through dialogue and consultations, said the Foreign Ministry spokesman.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution on the DPRK's nuclear program on November 29. Liu was responding to a reporter's question on China's view of the DPRK's rejection to the resolution.

Noting China's consistent stance on the DPRK nuclear issue, Liusaid China supported a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and stood for maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula.

Meanwhile, China also hoped that the all sides concerned would resolve issues through dialogue and the IAEA's resolution would help achieve those goals, the spokesman said.

Sino-US Talks on Defense, Human Rights

China and the United States are to hold consultations on defense and human rights in December.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Thursday that during Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to the United States in October, the presidents of China and the United States agreed that the two countries would resume military and other exchanges in the near future.

The spokesman said the two sides had agreed that the fifth China-US consultations on defense at vice-defence minister level will be held on December 9 and 10 in Washington D.C., the US capital. Xiong Guangkai, deputy chief of General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, would head a delegation to the consultations.

The two sides would exchange views on international and regional affairs, relations between the two nations and the two armies, and other issues of common concern, Liu said.

Meanwhile, the two countries had also agreed to hold the 13th China-US human rights talks in Beijing in mid-December. The Chinese representative would be Li Baodong, director of the international department of the Foreign Ministry, and his US counterpart would be Lorne W. Crane, assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor of the State Department.

Indian-Russian Ties

India and Russia are both friendly neighbors of China, and China welcomes the development of their friendly relations of cooperation, the spokesman said.

In response to a question at a press conference, spokesman Liu Jianchao also expressed hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India will promote the two countries' relations.

UN Weapons inspections in Iraq

China on Thursday called for the continued smooth operation of UN weapons inspections in Iraq, hoping that they would lead to the formal settlement of the issue within the framework of the United Nations.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said that the inspectors, who resumed the inspections on November 27, had received cooperation from the Iraqi side, and the work had been carried out smoothly so far.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission Hans Blix had also confirmed this, he noted.

China hoped that the momentum for the smooth operation of the inspections and the cooperation would continue so as to ensure theall-round and strict implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions within the framework of the United Nations, Liu said.

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