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Gates Warns Japan Not to Back Out of Troop Deal

Relationship with Asian ally increasingly strained

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 22, 2009 9:03 AM CDT
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(Newser) – All is not well between the US and Japan. Yesterday Robert Gates warned the country of serious consequences if it backs out of a troop movement deal the two countries spent 10 years negotiating. Japan’s new ruling party wants to reopen those negotiations, as it moves to redefine its relations with the US. Washington isn’t pleased, and State Department officials complain that the new party, which ended 50 years of one-party rule, lacks experience governing.

Last week, Japanese officials announced that the country would also stop refueling warships for coalition forces in Afghanistan. An annoyed Gates pointedly declined invitations to dine with Defense Ministry officials yesterday, and warned that backing out of the military deal would be “immensely complicated and counterproductive.” The deal was designed to deal with a rising China. But as one top State Department official tells the Washington Post, “the hardest thing right now is not China, it’s Japan.”

Robert Gates, right, and Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa listen to translation through earphones at a joint press conference in Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 21, 2009.
Robert Gates, right, and Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa listen to translation through earphones at a joint press conference in Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 21, 2009.   (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, and Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa attend a joint press conference in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, and Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa attend a joint press conference in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009.   (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, and his Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa shake hands after their joint press conference in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, and his Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa shake hands after their joint press conference in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009.   (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 9 comments
Nelstorm
Oct 23, 2009 9:10 AM CDT
No, that's not what I said. I didn't say it was alright for them to just pull out without renegotiating it that way. I said that the fact that they're trying to change the agreement is good because it shows independence.
Rob
Oct 23, 2009 6:42 AM CDT
That's not how it works. If it were then nations could refuse to pay debts after every election.
Rob
Oct 22, 2009 6:36 AM CDT
You people seem to be as "America Hating" in your own way as the teabaggers. That's not even interesting, just predictable.

 
Afghanistan • China • Japan • Robert Gates • Japanese Defense Force • Democratic Party of Japan • foreign policy

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