Following the "milestone" defense pact sealed yesterday between Japan and Australia, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang called on both countries to act in a way that respects both the concerns and interests of their neighbors and to progress in a manner conducive to promoting regional peace and security.

 

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard finalized the agreement on strengthened security cooperation in Tokyo. This constitutes Japan's second such pact, after the one it enjoys with the US.

 

Responding to assurances that the new pact would not threaten China, Qin hoped the Japanese and Australian leaders are true to their word. Howard said of the agreement: "It should not be seen as being antagonistic to anybody in the region. It certainly is not."

 

The Japan-Australia agreement lays out security cooperation goals in areas covering counter-terrorism, maritime security, border protection and disaster relief, while also laying out shared regional concerns.

 

Qin reiterated that China seeks peaceful development and that its national defense policy is based on the principle of self-defense.

 

Korean nuclear talks

 

The Chinese-chaired working group on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will convene for the first time in Beijing on Saturday.

 

Qin said Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, China's top nuclear envoy, will chair the group, aimed at implementing the six-party talks' February 13 agreement.

 

The group was agreed upon by the six delegations to the talks, along with four other working groups that will each oversee a key part of the deal, which should see North Korea abandon its nuclear weapon program and receive economic aid and diplomatic recognition.

 

South Korea, leading the economic and energy cooperation group, will also host a session at its Beijing embassy on Thursday, with its top nuclear negotiator Chun Yung-woo in attendance.

 

Russia is heading the group on Northeast Asia regional peace and security, with envoys from the US and Japan having started group meetings with North Korean officials on normalizing diplomatic ties.

 

"The goal for the five working groups is to implement the initial actions the joint statement (released on September 19, 2005) called for, to lay a foundation for moving forward the six-party talks," Qin said.

 

With the latest round of six-party talks beginning on Monday, key figures are paying diplomatic visits to Beijing.

 

Prior to his landmark two-day trip to North Korea, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei stopped off in Beijing on Monday to meet with Wu Dawei.

 

Qin described ElBaradei's trip as a crucial avenue for the IAEA and North Korea to mend their relationship, adding that Chinese diplomats see it as a major boost to the implementation of the joint statement.

 

US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief American delegate to the six-party talks, will come to Beijing today to attend Saturday's denuclearization working group meeting. Hill will also meet with Elbaradei, due back from Pyongyang today.

 

ElBaradei is also set to brief senior Chinese Foreign Ministry officials on the results of his visit.

 

Darfur issue

 

Qin expressed China's hopes that the Sudanese government will rapidly come to terms with the UN and the African Union (AU) and allow the deploying peacekeeping forces in Darfur.

 

According to Qin, the Sudanese government and the international society have reached a nominal consensus on the deployment of UN and AU peacekeeping forces in Darfur. He further called on all sides to work out detailed arrangements and rapidly convert these into actions.

 

The Sudanese government announced last December that, after rejecting the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force, it had agreed to a joint UN-AU peacekeeping operation in Darfur.

 

Final numbers from the UN and the AU would place between 19,000 and 20,000 troops on the ground, accompanied by 3,700 police officers and 19 police units with the two organizations now drafting up detailed operational plans.

 

The force forms the final phase of a three-part plan agreed upon by the UN, the AU and the Sudanese government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last November, which aims to bring peace between the Sudanese government, allied militias and rebels, which broke out in 2003.

 

Chirac's role in pushing for bilateral ties hailed

 

China hails French President Jacques Chirac's constructive role in furthering France and the EU's relations with China, Qin said.

 

He said China and France had enjoyed a period of constant development in recent years through their bilateral all-round strategic partnership, noting this was the accomplishment of both nations and their leaders.

Qin thanked France for its positions on issues concerning Taiwan, China-EU relations and lifting the EU arms embargo against China, saying China approved the momentum and growth of China-France relations.

 

Qin said China and France, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, share many common interests and important responsibilities in international affairs. China will maintain its friendly cooperative relations with France no matter what differences affect both countries or the international landscape.

 

China will also keep promoting the development of the China-France all-round strategic partnership based on the three joint communiqués between the two nations, Qin noted.

 

Chirac has served as president of France since being elected in 1995. Having won reelection in 2002, his term will expire on May 17, 2007.

 

China's praise came after Chirac announced in a televised address Sunday night that he would not seek a third presidential term.

 

State visits

 

Qin further announced that President Hu Jintao would visit Russia in the last 10 days of March.?

 

Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan will tour four Oceanian nations, namely Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, from March 19 to 31.

 

Li Shenglin, special envoy of the Chinese government, will visit Pakistan from March 18 to 21. Li, who is minister of communications, will attend the inauguration ceremony of Pakistan's Gwadar port, which was supported technically and financially by China.

 

Finally, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri will visit China from March 18 to 21 at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing.

 

(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily March 14, 2007)