Tag Archives: Japan
25 March 2014
Japan will turn over more than 700 pounds of weapons-grade plutonium and highly enriched uranium, estimated at 450 pounds, to the US. In the past, Iran has criticised Japan’s nuclear stockpiles as evidence of a double standard for trusted countries. Also, last month, China began to criticise Japan’s supply as well. However, the portion of stockpiles that Japan is handing over is only a fraction of Japan’s overall stockpile. Additionally, Japan plans to open up a new nuclear plant which could produce tons more per year, but the US has been urging Japan to abandon the programme. Regardless, Japan’s announcement is a success in President Obama’s push to secure the world’s most dangerous materials. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, a National Security Council official, regarding the agreement with Japan stated, ‘[t]his is the biggest commitment to remove fissile materials in the history of the summit process that President Obama launched, and it is a demonstration of Japan’s shared leadership on nonproliferation.’
Source: The New York Times | Japan to Let U.S. Assume Control of Nuclear Cache
11 November 2013
The Chinese Foreign Ministry urges states to come back to the negotiating table, after the six-party talks between North and South Korea, China, the US, Russia, and Japan stalled in 2009. Since the end of talks, North Korea has conducted to nuclear tests and China has been lobbying to reopen negotiations in order to ensure security of the Korean Peninsula. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, stated ‘there’s a common interest and shared responsibility to find a resolution to the impasse.’
Source: UPI | China presses for talks with North Korea
4 October 2013
The United States and Japan have concluded an agreement to broaden their security alliance. The agreement expands Japan’s role in the region, while affirming the US’ determination to remain a dominant presence in the region. It provides a basis for positioning surveillance drones, as well as navy reconnaissance planes, which will be used to patrol waters in the region, including those around disputed islands. Japan will expand assistance to Southeast Asian countries to help them resist Chinese territorial claims. The agreement also calls for trilateral cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan to face common threats, like North Korea’s nuclear programme.
Source: The New York TImes | U.S. and Japan Agree to Broaden Military Alliance
13 September 2013
Wang Guanzhong, Deputy Chief of General Staff of China’s People’s Liberation Army, said during talks with US colleagues on the topic of the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea that ‘This issue should not become a problem between China and the United States, and China hopes that the United States does not become a third party in this issue.’ He further stated that ‘The United States should maintain a consistent stance and policy, not send wrong signals nor support and connive with the relevant country to do as they please.’
Source: Reuters | China military tells U.S. not to encourage Japan over isles
27 May 2013
Symposium on the Law of the Sea and the Law of Responsibility, cross-posted on Opinio Juris
Natalie Klein has drawn attention to a longstanding weakness in those fields of international law, including international environmental law, devoted to serve collective interests, in matching obligations with rules of responsibility for their breach. The law of state responsibility applies in a fairly straightforward way to situations where there is an obligation under a treaty to protect the environment, that is violated by a treaty party, with clear impacts upon another party. However, as Klein points out, when it comes to iconic whale and shark (and indeed other) species found on the high seas the responsibility situation may be far from straightforward, and this can frustrate efforts to enforce conservation rules. (more…)