Hatoyama, Hu agree to work on N. Korea, get gas field project moving

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NEW YORK, Sept. 22 Kyodo -
Proposing forming an East Asian Community, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama agreed Monday with Chinese President Hu Jintao to deepen bilateral
ties, work closely toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, and make
progress on the disputed joint gas-development project in the East China Sea.
In their first one-on-one talks held in New York, Hatoyama, who led his
Democratic Party of Japan to a historic election victory last month, proposed
to the Chinese leader the formation of an East Asian Community for stable
economic cooperation and national security across the region -- a framework
envisioned as similar to the European Union.
''I talked about international relationship based on my 'fraternity' spirits,
and I told him Japan and China should acknowledge and overcome differences and
build relations of trust, based on which I would like to pursue the idea of
forming an entire East Asian Community,'' Hatoyama, 62, told reporters.
Hatoyama told Hu he wants to make the two nations' strategic and mutually
beneficial relations ''more substantial ones,'' according to Japanese
government officials.
Hatoyama won praise from Hu with his pledge to support a 1995 statement by then
Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama stating Japan inflicted tremendous damage and
suffering on Asian and other countries ''through its colonial rule and
aggression.''
The bilateral relationship has often been fractious due to differences over
their historical perspective on past Japanese militarism.
The two leaders, who are in New York to attend U.N. meetings, also agreed to
work closely toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, Hatoyama told
reporters.
Regarding the controversial undersea gas field development near the sea border
dividing the countries, Hatoyama told Hu he wants to transfer the ''sea of
problems'' to the ''sea of fraternity,'' Hatoyama said.
He suggested that the two countries, whose ties have often been strained over
disputed gas fields in the East China Sea, should forge a treaty to decide on
details to get the joint project agreed on in June 2008 moving, and Hu proposed
launching working-level meetings to boost mutual confidence on that matter,
according to the officials.
The meeting as a whole was held ''in a friendly atmosphere, in which both of us
expressed what we had in mind,'' Hatoyama said.
The officials said Hatoyama spoke to Hu without reading from documents prepared
by bureaucrats, which had been the case under past administrations led by the
Liberal Democratic Party.
The DPJ-led government is aiming to wrest power from central bureaucrats in the
policymaking process, blaming a past overdependence on bureaucrats for wasteful
spending of taxpayers' money.
Lauding Hatoyama as ''good, old friend of the Chinese,'' Hu said to him at the
start of their talks, ''I hope and I am confident that China-Japan ties will
develop more actively, ushering in a new phase for a more extensive development
(of the relations under Hatoyama).''
In their talks, Hu also played up that it is necessary for more frequent
top-level exchanges to beef up the bilateral ties, according to the Japanese
officials.
Noting that he met many times with Hatoyama when the DPJ was in the opposition
camp, Hu said, ''You have shown a consistent interest in the China-Japan
relationship for a long time and has supported it.''
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Tuesday in a
regular press briefing that Hu has pointed out to Hatoyama that both countries
are facing an ''important opportunity'' to bring bilateral relations to a
''higher and broader'' level.
During the meeting, Hu raised suggestions on how to further develop bilateral
relations between the two countries including increasing economic cooperation
and improving public opinion in both countries, Jiang said.
On the issues of strengthening Asian and international cooperation, Hu
suggested mutual cooperation between both countries not only on the North
Korean nuclear issue, but also when facing global challenges including the
financial crisis, climate change and energy issues, according to Jiang.
Hu also raised the need for a ''proper resolution'' of disputes in a ''prudent
manner'' in order to maintain a ''friendly atmosphere,'' Jiang said.
The DPJ's election victory brought an end to a nearly constant rule of Japan by
the LDP since its founding in 1955.
Chinese media welcomed Hatoyama's Sept. 16 inauguration, as he promised to
refrain from visiting Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which honors the country's war
dead including convicted war criminals. The Shinto shrine is regarded by China
and other countries as a symbol of Japanese military aggression.
The two leaders made no mention of the issue during their talks Monday,
according to the Japanese government officials.
Jiang however said Hu has stressed in the meeting that ''historical issues''
and the ''Taiwan issue'' form the political bedrock of China-Japan relations,
and expressed to Hatoyama his hope that Japan ''properly'' deals with the
relevant issues with a consideration of the impact on bilateral ties.
''Historical issues'' is a term that usually includes the Yasukuni Shrine
issue, while the ''Taiwan issue'' refers to China's claims of sovereignty over
the neighboring self-ruled island.
Hatoyama and Hu are likely to meet again on a bilateral basis when they hold
tripartite talks along with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak in China's
Tianjin, possibly next month.
Japan-China relations soured under former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi due
to his repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine, but his successors -- Shinzo Abe,
Yasuo Fukuda and Taro Aso -- concentrated on rebuilding the relationship.
During his six-day trip to the United States that began Monday, Hatoyama will
also meet with other foreign leaders such as U.S. President Barack Obama and
South Korea's Lee, and deliver speeches at a U.N. summit on climate change
Tuesday and other international events before returning to Japan on Saturday.
(Tanny Chia reported from Beijing)
==Kyodo