US and Japan warned not to meddle on Taiwan
7/3/2005 8:52
China's foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing yesterday warned the United
States and Japan against including statements on Taiwan in their security
partnership.
"The Taiwan issue is China's internal affair and should by no
means be deliberated in the framework of the security alliance between the US
and Japan," said Li at a news conference held on the sidelines of the ongoing
annual session of China's legislature, the National People's Congress.
Li,
who served as China's Ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2001, said
that the US-Japan military alliance was a "bilateral arrangement that occurred
under special circumstances during the Cold War period."
If it goes beyond
its bilateral scope, the alliance will "arouse uneasiness on the part of Asian
countries and bring complicated factors to the regional security situation,"
said the minister.
Calling taiwan "the most sensitive issue" in Sino-US
relations, Li said both governments should adopt "a far-reaching strategic
vision."
He urged Washington to abide by the three existing joint communiques
between the two governments, which set forth the principles that the US
acknowledges there is only one China and Taiwan is a part of China, that the US
recognizes the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal
government of China, and that the US doesn't plan to carry out a long-term
policy of arms sales to Taiwan and intends to reduce such sales gradually.
Li
also denounced secessionist forces in Taiwan for their so-called "dollar
diplomacy" in their pursuit of "Taiwan independence."
"This is actually a
kind of 'bribery diplomacy' and is viewed by many people as a kind of
corruption," he said.
In response to a German reporter's question about
whether a proposed anti-secession law that will be deliberated by the NPC will
lead to "war consequences," Li said the legislation was aimed at preventing the
"Taiwan independence" secessionist forces from taking any adventurous action to
undermine peace.
Li also appealed for an early end to a 15-year-old European
arms embargo against China.
France and Germany are lobbying for an end to the
ban. Britain's foreign secretary said in January it could be lifted within six
months.
"We don't need to buy a lot of advanced weapons from you," the
foreign minister said. "We only believe that the maintenance of such a
long-obsolete, useless and detrimental arms embargo against China is a jarring
note in the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the European
Union."
"To put it simply, what we are opposed to is political
discrimination," Li said.
The foreign minister also said he hoped for an
early resumption of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program, but said
he had no information on the status of any efforts by Pyongyang to obtain atomic
weapons.
While offering no dates for when talks might occur, Li said China
remained committed to resolving tensions over nuclear weapons on the Korean
Peninsula.
"The six-party talks present a realistic choice for the resolution
of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue. It is in the
interests of all the parties and should be continued," the foreign minister
said.
Xinhua/Agencies
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