Breaking News, World News and Taiwan News.

Updated Friday, September 3, 2010 0:04 am TWN, By Linda Sieg, Reuters

Sponsors
▪	Find great real time deals on China Flights. Book flights to China or China domestic flights 24/7.
▪	Buy china wholesale products from reliable chinese wholesalers on DHgate.com!
▪	Save 75% for all hotels in Shanghai, Beijing and whole China. Lowest rates for Flights in China.
▪	Get the best deals for Guangzhou Hotels or choose from more than 10,000 hotels in 499 Chinese cities.

China dependence growing issue for Japan

Last weekend, a delegation of Japanese cabinet ministers met their Chinese counterparts in Beijing for high-level economic talks — the third such annual dialogue — and agreed on the need to work together for global growth.

But even as economic ties deepen, Japan is increasingly wary of China's intentions as it spends more of its wealth on defense and shows growing willingness to project military power.

While a panel of experts advising the government as it undertakes a major review of defense policies gave a nod to such concerns, the wording was restrained, a reflection of Japan's dilemma as it balances economic interests with security worries.

“Japan's security position requires an extremely delicate policy. On the one hand, it is important to make sure that the cost of unfriendly, non-peaceful behavior is very costly ... and there has to be a very robust defense posture together with the United States,” said a Waseda University professor.

“At the same time, if you are talking about China, everyone knows that China's well-being as an economic power is important to Japan, to the United States, the region and the globe.”

The dilemma is a delicate one for Japan's ruling Democratic Party, which swept to power for the first time a year ago, ousting the LDP after more than 50 years of almost non-stop rule.

The party pledged in its campaign last year to forge a more equal relationship with security ally Washington while improving ties with Asian neighbors including China, sparking concerns in some U.S. circles that it was tilting towards Beijing.

“China is becoming more and more important to Japan year in and year out. Everyone accepts that. The debate is how best to handle this — engagement or constraint,” said a professor of international affairs at Temple in Tokyo.

“The pressure to pursue both strategies is increasing which is making the contradictions more obvious.”

Experts say Japan, distracted by its own economic woes and internecine strife in the ruling party, will likely respond with a mix of reliance on the U.S. military deterrence and beefing up its own forces within the elastic constraints of a pacifist constitution, while pursuing better diplomatic ties with Beijing.

1|2