Abe, Biden Share Concerns about China Air Defense Zone

Tokyo, Dec. 3 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday shared concerns about China's newly claimed air defense identification zone over the East China Sea. "We confirmed that we will not condone China's attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force and that we will continue working closely on the matter based on the strong Japan-U.S. alliance," Abe told a joint news conference after their 80-minute meeting in Tokyo. Biden, who was on the first leg of his Asian tour, said he will express deep concerns over the air defense zone to Chinese leaders when he visits the country Wednesday. During their meeting, the two leaders shared a view that the two countries need to send China a clear message to ensure the safety of civilian aircraft in the air defense zone that covers airspace over the Japanese-administered islands of Senkaku. On a proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Abe told the news conference that Japan will cooperate with the United States so that they can pave the way for concluding talks by the target period of the year-end. At the outset of the meeting, Abe expressed hopes that Biden's visit to Japan will strengthen the bilateral alliance even more. Biden said the alliance is a cornerstone of the two countries' security. U.S. President Barack Obama praises Abe for achieving a lot to enhance the bilateral alliance in a short period since he took office in December last year, Biden said. At the news conference, Abe said, "We agreed that we will not tolerate any act that would threaten the safety of civilian aircraft." Biden said the United States is deeply concerned about China's attempt to change the status quo. China's action has heightened regional tensions and increased the risk of accidents and miscalculation, Biden added, proposing a mechanism for crisis management between Japan and China. China requests commercial airlines to submit flight plans before their aircraft pass through the air defense zone. Tokyo urges Japanese airlines not to comply with China's request, while Washington tolerates prior notice to China by U.S. commercial airlines. At the meeting, Abe and Biden agreed that their countries will be united on the air defense zone issue. But both leaders stopped short of requesting China to scrap the zone. Speaking at the news conference, Abe underscored his resolve to conclude the TPP negotiations by the year-end. Biden said Japan needs to make more efforts in the fields of automobiles and agriculture. At their meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed that more efforts should be made to reduce the burden of Okinawa Prefecture in hosting U.S. military bases and promote the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station in the southern Japan prefecture. Abe and Biden also agreed to allow Japanese fishers to operate in the U.S. military's Area Hotel Hotel, waters off the eastern coast of Okinawa's main island, when no exercise is scheduled in the waters. END