|
Cable shows Japan
official said Taiwan part of China
PICKING SIDES: A Japanese official made the
comment to his Chinese counterparts when he asked them why Beijing was nervous
about Tsai Ing-wen visiting Japan
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff Reporter
A US cable released by WikiLeaks shows that Kenji Yamaoka, who was appointed
chairman of the National Public Safety Commission in the Cabinet of newly
appointed Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, considered Taiwan China’s
territory.
A Democratic Party of Japan (DJP) member of the House of Representatives in the
Diet, Yamaoka was quoted in a cable dated Dec. 24, 2009, as having told Chinese
officials that Japan’s diplomatic stance was that “Taiwan is a part of China.”
Yamaoka invited US diplomats to his office on Dec. 17, 2009, a few days after
Ichiro Ozawa, then DJP secretary-general, and himself had returned from a trip
to China, where they met Chinese Minister of National Defense Liang Guanglie
(梁光烈).
The cable, originating from the US embassy in Tokyo, was released on Sept. 1.
During the meeting, Yamaoka said that Chinese counterparts raised concerns about
Japan’s decision to invite Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen
(蔡英文) to Japan from Dec. 13 through Dec. 16 that year, the cable shows.
In response, Yamaoka said he asked the Chinese side “why Beijing was so nervous
despite Japan’s clear diplomatic stance that Taiwan is a part of China,” the
cable shows.
The remark made by Yamaoka was not inconsistent with a joint communique
previously issued by the Japanese government and the People’s Republic of China
(PRC).
According to the communique, the PRC government reiterated that Taiwan is an
inalienable part of the territory of the PRC. The government of Japan “fully
understands and respects this stand” of the PRC government and it firmly
maintains its stand under Article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration.
Separately, a cable dated Oct. 26, 2007, from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)
reveals that Tadashi Ikeda, former Japanese representative to Taiwan, personally
favored DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) over Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of
the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in the 2008 presidential election.
Ikeda told then-AIT director Stephen Young that “while Japan will maintain
nominal neutrality over Taiwan’s presidential contest, its sentiments were more
with the DPP and Frank Hsieh, for both personal and historical reasons,” the
cable shows.
“Ikeda took note of the US position that we would remain neutral in upcoming
Taiwan presidential elections. While this was Tokyo’s formal position as well,
he proceeded to tell me that historically his government has not been well
disposed toward the KMT,” the cable says.
In February 2008, Young visited Japan to discuss the upcoming Taiwanese
election, Japan’s ties with China and Taiwan, and cross-strait relations in
separate meetings, a cable dated Feb. 27, 2008, from the US embassy in Tokyo
showed.
“Japan and the United States have the ability to influence Taiwan and buttress
its confidence, and should continue to consult closely with each other on Taiwan
issues to help Taiwan maneuver in the face of a more aggressive China,” the
cable quotes Young as saying.
Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs China and Mongolia Division Director Takeo
Akiba raised the possibility of “jointly approaching first the Taiwan
authorities and then the government in Beijing to call for greater dialogue and
CBMs [confidence building measures].”
Japan’s former ambassador to China, Sakutaro Tanino, told Young that “China’s
lack of military transparency and Beijing’s continued suspicion over Japan’s
Taiwan policy, however, still threaten to impede ties [between the two
countries], ” the cable says.
“Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai [崔天凱] will ask [then-Japanese] Prime
Minister Fukuda to make a clear statement that Japan does not have ‘territorial
ambitions’ toward Taiwan. Beijing is attempting to constrain Japan’s Taiwan
policy by pushing for a fourth joint communique when [Chinese] President Hu
Jintao (胡錦濤) visits Japan in April,” the cable says.
|
