Japan, China agree not to let isles dispute spill over+

BEIJING, Feb. 28 Kyodo - Japan and China agreed Saturday not to let their dispute over sovereignty of islets in the East China Sea, which has recently flared up again, to spill over into overall relations, a Japanese government official said.

Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and his Chinese
counterpart Yang Jiechi also agreed to continue monitoring North Korea, which
has said it plans to fire a satellite that the rest of the world fears may be a
long-range ballistic missile.
Nakasone arrived in Beijing earlier in the day for a two-day stay, which a
Japanese diplomatic source has characterized as part of a series of high-level
bilateral exchanges expected this year.
Nakasone's visit, the first since taking office in September, came shortly
after China issued a stern protest against recent remarks by Japanese Prime
Minister Taro Aso that the disputed islets are Japanese territory and fall
under the security alliance between Japan and the United States.
The islets, known in Japan as the Senkaku and in China as the Diaoyu, are
claimed by China, Japan and Taiwan.
The two ministers remained apart on the islets as they repeated their
countries' basic positions, the official said.
But ''they agreed to make an effort so the differences in the two sides'
positions do not cast a shadow on overall relations,'' the official said.
On North Korea, the two sides agreed to ''continue monitoring the situation and
maintain close contact'' from the viewpoint that ''North Korea should not carry
out any acts that heighten tensions and threaten peace and safety of the
region,'' the official said.
A missile firing is certain to raise tensions in the region, and Japan has
urged North Korea to refrain from carrying out the launch. China, North Korea's
traditional ally, has also indicated its wish that Pyongyang not go ahead with
the plan.
The official declined to describe the foreign ministers' specific comments on
the topic, citing ongoing diplomatic efforts to prevent such a development.
Nakasone also expressed concern about China's military buildup, to which Yang
replied that China is boosting transparency in the area, and that an increase
in its defense spending is mainly for raising the living standards of its
troops, according to the official.
The two ministers also discussed the ongoing global economic crisis, and agreed
on the need to combat protectionism in trade, according to the official.
On the bilateral front, the two ministers agreed on exchanges of about 1,500
teachers over three years, the official said.
The two ministers also agreed to launch negotiations for the conclusion of two
treaties for bilateral cooperation in the criminal and judicial fields.
One of the treaties allows a criminal who committed a crime in the other
country to serve prison time in his or her country of origin.
Another treaty allows the countries to hand over a criminal who fled to his or
her country of origin after committing a crime in the other country.
Nakasone's visit is expected to be followed by further bilateral exchanges,
including a visit to Japan in late March by Li Changchun, the fifth-ranking
member of the Chinese Communist Party.
Other visits to China by Prime Minister Aso and Defense Minister Yasukazu
Hamada are also under consideration.
==Kyodo
2009-03-01 00:29:26