US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell is expected to visit Tokyo
today and Seoul later this week, following a series of recent visits by
high-ranking US officials to East Asia, where security uncertainties have
raised concerns.
Recent developments on the Korean
Peninsula and the territorial row between China and Japan - a close ally of the
US in this region - over the East China Sea's islands dispute will be on top of
Campbell's agenda, analysts said.
The visit comes after the fourth
Asia-Pacific consultation between China and the US, which was held on Tuesday
in San Francisco and co-chaired by Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai
and Campbell, the US government official in charge of East Asian and Pacific
affairs.
The two sides exchanged views on
Sino-US relations, the situation in Asia-Pacific region, the two countries'
interaction in this area and how to promote regional cooperation, according to
a statement on the website of Foreign Ministry.
The two sides vowed to commit to
the success of the East Asia Summit, which will be held in Cambodia next month,
according to the statement.
"Visiting Japan and South
Korea after talks with China is a regular practice for the US, as it has to
inform its allies about the latest developments with China, a key player in the
region," said Da Wei, an expert on American studies with China Institutes
of Contemporary International Relations.
US-Japan bilateral issues and
their coordination on regional and global issues will be discussed when
Campbell meets with Japanese Vice-Foreign Minister Chikao Kawai and other
senior officials today and tomorrow, according to a statement on the website of
the US Department of State.
The North Korea issue will be
included in Campbell's talks with South Korean officials tomorrow and Saturday,
it said.
Campbell's visit follows a
semi-official visit to Japan and China by a group of former US national
security officials earlier this week, and US Deputy Secretary of State William
Burns' visit to five Asian countries, including China and Japan, earlier this
month.
"These visits are good
policy instruments, with low costs, for the US to increase its intervention in
this region and mould the situation in the Asia-Pacific in the way it
wishes," Da said.
The US will try to keep South
Korea from making provoking moves toward North Korea for the sake of stability
on the Korean Peninsula, at least before the US presidential election on
November 6 and South Korea election in December, Da said.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula
remain high. On Monday, South Korea's anti-Pyongyang activists managed to
launch balloons carrying 120,000 propaganda leaflets criticising Pyongyang's
political system at the border between South Korea and North Korea.
There has not been any reaction
from North Korea, but it had threatened a "merciless military
strike".
Paralleling the troubled
situation on the Korean Peninsula in this region is the strained relationship
between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands (known in Japan as Senkaku).
The issue is sure to be discussed
between Campbell and Japanese officials, said Da, adding that the US' aim is to
have the conflict develop in a way that the US can benefit from it.
China-Japan relations soured
after Japan illegally "purchased" part of China's Diaoyu Islands in
September.
Statistics show that Japan's
investment in China and bilateral trade suffered a slowdown in September.
Yuan Peng, director of the
Institute of American Studies at China Institutes of Contemporary International
Relations, said the US has made progress in its "pivot to Asia"
strategy by enhancing its military deployment in this region and blocking the
trade integration of East Asia.
"The US actually hopes the
conflict will continue, but in a way in which it will not lose control,"
Yuan said.
Cheng Guangjin/Zhou
Wa
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