JAPAN: Chinese defence minister Cao Gangchuan in Japan as relations thaw

Defence ministers of Japan and China agree to first ever Chinese navy ship visit to Japan as part of their military confidence building measures. China tried to ease Tokyo's worries over its ballooning military spending in a meeting on Thursday (August 30) at which the Asian rivals' defence ministers agreed to stage the first-ever visit by a Chinese warship to Japan. Cao Gangchuan's trip to Japan is the first by a Chinese defence minister in almost a decade, after top-level military exchanges ground to a halt due to strained bilateral ties. Cao told Japanese Defence Minister Masahiko Komura that Beijing was monitoring how the close U.S.-Japan alliance would affect relations with Taiwan, which China sees as a renegade province. "The purpose of China's defence policy is to prevent an invasion, or to resist one if it does take place," a Japanese official quoted Cao as telling Komura in what he described as a frank and friendly meeting. Cao said China had sharply raised salaries for the troops and introduced new uniforms, which accounted for most of China's rise in military spending. The rest was attributable to modernisation of equipment in line with international trends, he was quoted as saying. Komura urged Cao to make public more information about China's military, giving a list of Japanese concerns ranging from the types of equipment Beijing is using to the positioning of its troops. He also said an explanation of the unannounced arrival of a Chinese submarine in Japanese waters in 2004, as well as China's shooting down of one of its own disused satellites this year would help to put Japan's mind at rest over Beijing's intentions. The two ministers agreed to set up a committee to look into the establishment of a hotline between the ministries, which analysts say would likely help avert a crisis in case of an incident like the incursion by the Chinese submarine. The defence ministers agreed that the first-ever call by a Chinese warship at a Japanese port -- delayed since 2002 -- should be arranged for November or December this year. A Japanese ship is to pay a reciprocal visit to China next year. Cao was set to visit troops on Friday and pay a visit to the historic capital of Kyoto on Saturday, before leaving on Sunday. Sino-Japanese ties, long plagued by bitter Chinese memories of Japan's invasion and occupation in the 1930s and 1940s, had sunk to their worst state in decades under Abe's predecessor who angered Beijing with visits to a shrine where wartime leaders are honoured along with war dead. After taking office almost a year ago Abe moved quickly to repair ties with China, visiting Beijing weeks after he took office last year. Former Japanese Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba visited China for talks with his counterpart in 2003. The last Chinese defence minister to visit Japan was Chi Haotian, in February 1998. ($1=7.549 Yuan)

ITN Source | August 30, 2007

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