From AP. via The New York Times:
Praising Japan as a steadfast ally, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that maintaining peace in the Asia Pacific region was a shared goal and she looked forward to a joint effort to restrain China from using force against Taiwan.
With Japan’s foreign and defense ministers en route to Washington to discuss the U.S.-Japan security alliance, Rice said ensuring stability was the aim, a reflection of “very deep and broad relations” between Washington and Tokyo.
Until now, Japan has left it to the United States to deal with China’s wrath and threats to use force against Taiwan, which Beijing views as a renegade province that must be reabsorbed by the mainland.
