Kitazawa to discuss maritime security at meeting in Vietnam+

TOKYO, Oct. 8 Kyodo -
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said Friday he will visit Hanoi from Sunday
and meet with his counterparts from Vietnam, the United States and other
countries to seek cooperation in stepping up maritime security, but he may not
meet with his Chinese counterpart due to procedural delays.
''It is important to discuss from a comprehensive viewpoint the reality that
the security environment in the entire East China Sea is severe and volatile,''
Kitazawa told reporters. The Chinese navy has recently enhanced its activities
in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, where territorial disputes
involving China with countries such as Japan and Vietnam have taken place.
Ties between Japan and China have dipped to the lowest point in years in the
face of last month's maritime collisions near the disputed Senkaku Islands in
the East China Sea.
''The foremost purpose is to foster a common understanding with several
concerned countries,'' Kitazawa said of his trip, which includes talks Monday
with his Vietnamese counterpart, as well as defense ministers from Singapore
and Australia.
But the prospect of Kitazawa's meeting with his Chinese counterpart Liang
Guanglie during the trip is uncertain due to delays with the Foreign Ministry
at the administrative level in arranging such a meeting.
Kitazawa criticized the ministry's delay in sounding out China for a bilateral
meeting, saying he finds it ''outrageous'' and soon alerted Foreign Minister
Seiji Maehara.
Maehara in an afternoon news conference apologized on behalf of the ministry
and said that it took some time for the ministry to arrange as China has
suspended ministerial contacts since Japan's detention of a Chinese fishing
boat captain over the collisions last month.
''I believe the defense minister understands the circumstances of Japan and
China,'' he said.
During his meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Sunday,
Kitazawa also plans to reaffirm that the issue of relocating a major U.S. base
in Okinawa Prefecture will be resolved soon, in line with a bilateral accord
reached in May between Tokyo and Washington on the relocation.
Washington may also touch on the sharing of costs for U.S. forces stationed in
Japan.
Kitazawa will cut short his initial schedule and not attend a meeting on
Tuesday that brings together defense ministers from the 10-member Association
of Southeast Asian Nations plus eight other countries, including the United
States, Australia and India, because he has to attend the ongoing Diet session.
==Kyodo
2010-10-09 00:10:27