Chinese minister enraged by Okada's calls for nuclear arsenal cut › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

10-07-02 4:49 AM

JapanToday: Japan News and Discussion

Chinese minister enraged by Okada's calls for nuclear arsenal cut

Tuesday 18th May, 02:02 PM JST

TOKYO — Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi became enraged by his Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada’s repeated calls for a reduction in
China’s nuclear arsenal when they met Saturday and nearly walked out of the talks, several diplomatic sources said Tuesday.

During the trilateral meeting in the ancient South Korean city of Gyeongju, which also involved South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan,
Okada told Yang that China should ‘‘at least make efforts not to increase’’ the number of its nuclear weapons and ‘‘show its commitment’’ to
nuclear disarmament, according to the sources.

With his face tensed, Yang maintained that Beijing’s nuclear policy is restrained and insisted that the issue is not a suitable agenda item for the
meeting, which is intended to deepen the partnership between the three Asian countries, the sources said.

Despite Yang’s claim, Okada continued his arguments and the Chinese minister hit back in Chinese and at one point was about to leave the
gathering, saying he could no longer attend under such conditions, the sources said.

Although Yang decided not to walk out, he later lodged a protest at Okada through diplomatic channels, saying the Japanese foreign minister had
been ‘‘rude.’‘

During a dinner that followed the trilateral meeting, Yang did not speak a word to Okada, baffling the host Yu.

The three ministers on Sunday visited the Bulguksa Temple, a world heritage site in Gyeonju, on the initiative of Yu, who tried to strengthen the
personal relationships between the three. But Okada and Yang did not engage in lively conversations at that time, the sources said.

© 2010 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.

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