TOKYO, Oct 26 (AFP) - A senior Chinese military official urged Japan and the United States on Tuesday to take neighbouring countries into consideration when they discuss the planned redeployment of US troops on Japanese territory.
The request was made by Xiong Guangkai, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, when he met Takemasa Moriya, deputy director general of Japan's Defence Agency, Japanese officials said.
Xiong told Moriya that in discussing the redeployment both Japan and the United States should take into consideration that "countries in the region are intent on maintaining peace," the officials said.
He added that the two countries should see to it that the plan will contribute to peace and stability in the region.
Moriya replied that Japan believes that "the Asia-Pacific region is not stable," the officials said.
The deputy defence chief added that the repositioning of US troops in Japan would be consistent with Tokyo's new defence strategy due to be worked out by the end of this year.
In a meeting with US President George W. Bush last month, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi offered to speed up talks on the US military presence in Japan as Washington forges ahead with its plan to redeploy US forces worldwide.
As part of this the Pentagon plans to relocate a major army command, which covers the "arc of instability" stretching from the Middle East to the Korean peninsula, to Camp Zama outside Tokyo from the state of Washington.
The transfer plan has sparked controversy here as the 1960 US-Japan security treaty limits the scope of US forces stationed in Japan to "the purpose of contributing to the security of Japan and the maintenance of international peace and security in the Far East."
10/26/2004 13:55 GMT - AFP