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U.S. affirms support for Japan in island dispute with China
Source: Reuters
U.S. affirms support for Japan in island dispute with China
BY MARK FELSENTHAL AND DAVID ALEXANDER
WASHINGTON Wed Nov 27, 2013 11:51am EST
(Reuters) - The United States pledged support for ally Japan on Wednesday in a growing dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea as senior U.S. administration officials said China's claim to air space over the islands had unsettled its neighbors.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told his Japanese counterpart in a phone call that the two nations' defense treaty covers the small island group where China established a new airspace defense zone last week and "commended the Japanese government for exercising appropriate restraint," a Pentagon spokesman said.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is due to visit China, Japan and South Korea during a week-long trip and will seek to ease tensions heightened after China demanded that airplanes flying near the islands identify themselves to Chinese authorities, senior U.S. administration officials said.
China's declaration raised the stakes in a territorial standoff between Beijing and Tokyo over the contested islands.
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BY MARK FELSENTHAL AND DAVID ALEXANDER
WASHINGTON Wed Nov 27, 2013 11:51am EST
(Reuters) - The United States pledged support for ally Japan on Wednesday in a growing dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea as senior U.S. administration officials said China's claim to air space over the islands had unsettled its neighbors.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told his Japanese counterpart in a phone call that the two nations' defense treaty covers the small island group where China established a new airspace defense zone last week and "commended the Japanese government for exercising appropriate restraint," a Pentagon spokesman said.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is due to visit China, Japan and South Korea during a week-long trip and will seek to ease tensions heightened after China demanded that airplanes flying near the islands identify themselves to Chinese authorities, senior U.S. administration officials said.
China's declaration raised the stakes in a territorial standoff between Beijing and Tokyo over the contested islands.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/27/us-usa-china-idUSBRE9AQ0T920131127