DATE=8/3/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA MISSILE - JAPAN REACT (L)
NUMBER=2-252444
BYLINE=KARRIN AMEDEO
DATELINE=TOKYO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Japan's prime minister, Keizo Obuchi, said
today/Tuesday that he will watch developments closely
following China's test firing of a new long range
missile. China's news agency, Xinhau, reported on
Monday that Beijing had successfully launched a
ground-to-ground missile but did not release any
further details. Karrin Amodeo reports from Tokyo on
the Japanese government's reaction.
TEXT: Foreign minister Masahiko Komura said at a news
conference here that China's decision to launch a
ballistic missile was not favorable, especially in
light of the global trend to reduce weapons of mass
destruction.
The Chinese launch comes as Japan, South Korea and the
United States are trying to dissuade North Korea from
test firing its ballistic missile. Japan's foreign
minister said that Beijing had not broken any
international law because the exercise took place
within Chinese territory.
Xinhau did not release any information about the
missile, but Western military experts have been
expecting China to test-fire the missile, capable of
carrying a single, seven hundred-kilogram nuclear
warhead that could reach the United States.
News of the launch came on the same day that mainland
authorities criticized the United States for going
ahead with plans to sell advanced weapons and military
equipment to Taiwan. Beijing considers Taiwan a
renegade province and has sworn to reunify the island
with the mainland.
A State Department spokesman said the Clinton
administration does not believe the timing of the
launch is related to tensions between Beijing and
Taipei. The spokesman also said the Chinese test is
not a dramatic development because Beijing already
has long-range missiles. (Signed)
NEB/KA/AG/KL
03-Aug-1999 13:18 PM EDT (03-Aug-1999 1718 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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