- Title: JAPAN: U.S. briefs Japan hourly on hostages in Algeria
- Date: 17th January 2013
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JANUARY 17, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTRY JAPANESE FLAG U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE KURT CAMPBELL WALKING INTO MINISTRY BUILDING CAMPBELL WALKING IN CAMPBELL AND U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SENIOR DIRECTOR DANIEL RUSSELL STANDING FOR MEDIA INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EAST ASIAN PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL SAYING: "We have offered a specific set of briefings for the foreign minister tomorrow when he's in Washington at the highest-levels. He was grateful for that commitment, and we're in very close hourly consultations with the Japanese on the developing situation there, which is very serious. We are committed to working very closely with Japan until the situation is resolved." CAMPBELL TALKING TO JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EAST ASIAN PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL SAYING: "We're interested in concrete areas where the United States and Japan can work more effectively together; humanitarian issues, issues to promote the freedom of navigation, support for broader maintenance of peace and stability in Asia. I'm confident that we will be able to work together responsibly towards a goal that will be welcomed not only between the United States and Japan but the broader region as a whole." CAMPBELL AND RUSSELL STANDING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EAST ASIAN PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL SAYING: "The United States has no intention to play an intermediating role, but we do support the efforts that the Japanese government has taken to reach out to South Korea, to reach out to China. We want those conversations to continue." CAMPBELL WALKING OFF
- Embargoed: 1st February 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAF4ECJRQOYII9XQDP9RI78NRG6
- Story Text: The top U.S. diplomat for East Asian affairs, Kurt Campbell, said on Thursday (January 17) that the U.S. government will give Japan hourly updates about the situation in Algeria, where 41 foreigners including Japanese nationals have been kidnapped.
Regional reports said Islamist militants attacked a gas field in Algeria on Wednesday (January 16), and claimed to have kidnapped up to 41 foreigners in a dawn raid, in retaliation for France's intervention in Mali.
Japan's Jiji news reported on Wednesday (January 16) that a source at Japanese engineering firm JGC Corp confirmed that five Japanese nationals had been kidnapped, though the company's officials statement has not confirmed the number of its employees kidnapped.
"We have offered a specific set of briefings for the foreign minister tomorrow when he's in Washington at the highest-levels. He was grateful for that commitment, and we're in very close hourly consultations with the Japanese on the developing situation there, which is very serious. We are committed to working very closely with Japan until the situation is resolved," Campbell said in Tokyo.
Campbell, accompanied by Assistant Secretary of Defense Mark Lippert and the National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Daniel Russel in his Asian tour, will also discuss humanitarian and defence cooperation between Japan and the U.S..
"We're interested in concrete areas where the United States and Japan can work more effectively together; humanitarian issues, issues to promote the freedom of navigation, support for broader maintenance of peace and stability in Asia. I'm confident that we will be able to work together responsibly towards a goal that will be welcomed not only between the United States and Japan but the broader region as a whole," Campbell said.
Japan and the United States have agreed in November 2012 to discuss updating 15-year-old guidelines on their security alliance in view of China's growing military presence in the region and the North Korea's nuclear and missile treats.
Regarding territorial disputes in the region, Campbell said he hoped countries involved will continue to find a diplomatic solution.
"The United States has no intention to play an intermediating role, but we do support the efforts that the Japanese government has taken to reach out to South Korea, to reach out to China. We want those conversations to continue," he said.
The high-powered delegation from the White House, Pentagon and State Department, who arrived in Japan after a stop in South Korea, hopes Seoul and Tokyo can put a lid on spats over history and territory.
Troubles between Asia's second and fourth biggest economies are frustrating to Washington at a time when a defiant North Korea has tested a long-range rocket and may be poised to conduct its third nuclear test.
U.S. officials also seek to reassure Tokyo as it confronts almost daily challenges from China over which has sovereignty of disputed islets in a separate, more dangerous, territorial row with Beijing.
The long-simmering disputes erupted anew last year, casting a cloud over the President Barack Obama's signature policy for East Asia - rebalancing security forces in the region - in part to cope with a surging China. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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