Submitted by admin on Tue, 2007-03-13 08:00. ::
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was set to sign a ground-breaking defense pact with Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Tuesday that both leaders have emphasized is not aimed at reining in China.
"The purpose of this is to express a common desire of Japan and Australia to work ever closer together to contribute to security in the region," Howard told reporters after meeting Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma. "It is obviously an important step forward.
"You never forget the past. You move on from the past, and you don't allow the past to contaminate what you do in the present or in the future," he said.
Some Australians still have bitter feelings about Japan because of World War Two, and Howard has said he would bring up Abe's recent comments denying the Japanese government directly forced women to become wartime sex slaves for Japanese soldiers.
Japan has in recent years pushed the limits of its U.S.-drafted pacifist constitution, and Abe wants to rewrite the document to clarify the legal status of its military and facilitate a bigger global security role.
The four-part defense agreement sets priorities for security cooperation in such areas as counter-terrorism, maritime security, border protection and disaster relief. Continued...
This is cache, read story here
