|
China 'must clarify' arms
spending
Al
Jazeera.net
Thursday Aug 30, 2007
China must be more transparent about its soaring military
budget to ease conerns about Beijing's military intentions, Japan's
defence minister has said.
Masahiko Komura's comments came during a meeting with his visiting
Chinese counterpart, Cao Gangchuan, the first face-to-face talks
defence chiefs from the two countries in nearly a decade.
During the meeting Komura urged Beijing to ""clarify"
its military spending and arms policy, particularly troop deployment,
equipment and training. the Kyodo News agency reported.
Cao said China was "making effort to increase transparency",
adding that the recent growth in spending had largely gone to
salaries, uniforms and modernisation in line with China's drive
to create a more professional military.
'Taiwan situation'
He also pointed to ongoing tensions with Taiwan which China
has threatened with military force if it makes moves toward declaring
formal independence from the mainland.
(Article continues below)
"China needs military spending because of the Taiwan situation,"
Cao was quoted as saying.
The meeting was aimed at bolstering defence co-operation between
the two countries and improving overall ties.
Sino-Japanese relations have been strained in recent years over
issues such as disputed territory and Japan's war time past.
In a bid to avoid friction with Beijing ahead of the talks, Japan
did not extend its usual invitation to army officials from Taiwan
to attend an annual military drill held near Mount Fuji last week.
Military expansion
Despite warming ties, concerns are still high in Tokyo about
China's military build-up and marked rise in defence spending.
Japan's defence ministry lists Chinese military expansion as
a top security concern in the region, and Japanese officials have
labelled China a "threat", drawing rebukes from Beijing.
Tokyo also expressed alarm earlier this year when China successfully
tested an anti-satellite missile, becoming only the third country
to destroy an object in space.
Komura and Cao were expected to discuss the possibility of setting
up a telephone hotline between their armies, and reciprocal port
calls by navy ships.
Cao, who arrived on Wednesday for a five-day visit, addressed
Japanese troops before Thursday's talks.
|
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
|
