Island tensions, aircraft deployment in Japan will be high on agenda
United States Defence Secretary
Leon Panetta is set to visit Japan and China this week amid escalating tensions
between the two biggest powers of East Asia.
Analysts said the dispute over
the Diaoyu Islands (known in Japan as Senkaku Islands) and the US deployment of
MV-22 Osprey aircraft to Japan will be high on Panetta's agenda.
The top Pentagon official will
also try to explain the US' pivot toward Asia, and promote US-China military
relations in meetings with Chinese officials, according to analysts.
Panetta left Washington on Sept.
15 for his third trip to Asia in 11 months. He will travel to Japan, China and
New Zealand.
His visit to China will be his
first since taking office in July last year, following Defence Minister Liang
Guanglie's trip to Washington in May.
In announcing Panetta's trip to
China, the Pentagon underscored opportunities for increasing military
cooperation as part of their efforts to reassure China that relocating military
resources to the Asia-Pacific is not meant to confront the country.
"We believe it's going to be
a very productive and cordial visit, one that will advance our shared goals of
a more transparent and even more viable relationship with the Chinese
military," said Pentagon Press Secretary George Little, to the American
Forces Press Service.
During the trip, the US also
seeks to promote contact between cadets and mid-level military officers to
complement high-level talks, he added.
Panetta's stop in Japan before
his prearranged visit to China, which had been revealed much earlier, has
attracted attention as the two neighbours are engaged in an escalating
territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands.
In Japan, Panetta will meet with
that country's Defence Minister Satoshi Morimoto, Foreign Minister Koichiro
Gemba and US service members, Little said.
He is also expected to discuss
Japanese concerns over the safety of the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft the US is
deploying to Japan.
"The frequency of recent
visits to Japan shows the US has an unwavering commitment to the Japanese
alliance and to Japanese security, and it makes sense when you're in the
neighbourhood to stop by and see your good friends," he said.
However, China is also of growing
importance to the US.
In a recent poll conducted by the
Chicago Council on Global Affairs, when asked whether Japan or China is more
important to the US, seven in 10 US citizens said that China is more important.
Commentator Peng Nian said the US
defence secretary's visits to Japan and China is "very important" at
a time when the two countries' ties are strained by their territorial disputes.
"The US will show that it
will not abandon Japan on the one hand, but will try to constrain Japan from
destructive behaviour on the other," Peng said.
"In China, Panetta will
learn about China's stance on the Diaoyu Islands issue, try to deter Beijing
and persuade China to change its tough stance," said Peng.
Panetta's 10-day trip will also
include a stop in New Zealand, nearly 11,700 kilometres southeast of China. He
will be the first US defence secretary to visit that nation in more than 30
years.
The US and New Zealand signed a
declaration in June, that provides a framework for cooperation to focus,
strengthen and expand the bilateral defence relationship.
China is concerned about the US
rebalancing in the Asia-Pacific region, which is seen as the traditional
superpower trying to contain China through strengthened relations with its
allies and partners in this region.
"The US aims to have New
Zealand join in its rebalancing in the Asia-Pacific region and further complete
this system," Peng said.
According to the Voice of
America, this visit is a chance for Panetta to allay the concerns of Beijing.
"Our effort to renew and
intensify our involvement in Asia is fully compatible with the development and
growth of China," Panetta said in June last year in Singapore.
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