China urges Japan, US not to harm third-party interests

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman has urged Japan and the United States not to harm the interests of third parties and to respect the security concerns of regional countries. “Their bilateral alliance was forged under a specific historical situation and should not infringe upon the interests of third parties or exceed the bilateral framework,” spokesman Hong Lei said here on Friday while commenting on a possible review of Japan-US defense alliance guidelines between the senior defense officials of the two nations. Japanese /Kyodo/ News Agency reported that Japan’s senior vice defense minister Akihisa Nagashima and US Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter will hold talks during Nagashima’s visit to the U.S., which begins on Nov.9. They will discuss a possible review of bilateral defense alliance guidelines for the purpose of expanding cooperation between Japan’s self-defense forces and the US military, according to the report. “We hope the two countries will respect the security concerns of regional countries and do more to help maintain regional peace and stability,” Hong said.