China Thursday urged Japan to be "prudent" in the kind of help it
would provide to the global fight against terrorism following
reports Tokyo might be willing to expand its military role
overseas.
The issue of Japan taking military action was a "very sensitive"
one due to the country's history, said Chinese foreign ministry
spokesman Zhu Bangzao.
"In the fight against terrorism, the international community faces
a common task," he said at the ministry's regular briefing.
"On the other hand ... due to historical reasons, it's quite
obvious that the role that the Japanese government can play in the
military field is a very sensitive question and should be dealt
with in a prudent manner."
China was a main victim of Japanese imperialism in the years before
and during World War II. Japanese soldiers waged a brutal
full-scale war in China in the period from 1937 to 1945, during
which millions of Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Thursday promised
Japan would provide non-combat assistance such as medical
treatment, transport and supplies.
But Japan would not contravene its constitution, which bars the use
of force to settle international disputes, Koizumi said.
However, during the current Japanese parliamentary session MPs are
expected to pass a new law allowing an expanded role for the
country's military in the US-led war on terrorism, news reports
have said.
The special law, to be named after the September 11 terrorist
attacks in New York and Washington DC, will allow Japan's military
to transport ammunition and weapons to US forces, the Nihon Keizai
Shimbun business daily said Thursday.
The law would allow the overseas mobilization of the Japanese
military -- known as the Self-Defense Forces -- for such tasks
without a UN resolution, the paper said.
Koizumi has previously said he was ready to send Japanese forces on
non-combat missions to help Americans, even if those missions were
dangerous.
Recent polls have shown as many as 87 percent of Japanese support
cooperation with the United States in its fight against global
terrorism.
(Chinadaily
09/27/2001)