Gov't confirms Japan-U.S. treaty applies to Senkaku Islands: Kawamura+

TOKYO, March 5 Kyodo -
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said Thursday that the Japanese
government has confirmed with the United States that the countries' bilateral
security treaty applies to the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands.

''We have confirmed that the U.S. government's understanding is not different
from the conventional view'' that the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty applies to the
disputed islets in the East China Sea, which are claimed by China, Japan and
Taiwan.
Kawamura added that the United States says it is not in a position to make a
judgment on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands and that it hopes that the
issue will be resolved peacefully among the countries concerned.
Prime Minister Taro Aso said in a Diet session last week that Japan and the
United States will work together to deal with any attack on the disputed islets
by a third country, adding that the government will reconfirm the matter with
the United States in the near future.
Aso's remarks have drawn protests from China, where the islets are known as the
Diaoyu Islands, as well as Taiwan.
The islands have been under Japanese administrative control since the reversion
of Okinawa to Japan from U.S. administrative rule in 1972. The Japan-U.S.
Security Treaty stipulates that both countries will work together if there is a
military attack on territories under the administration of Japan.
==Kyodo
2009-03-05 20:55:40