美国防部长:美日将扩大防务合作

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter vowed to expand defense collaboration with Japan, as he held talks with his Japanese counterparts Wednesday in Tokyo.

Carter is on the first day of a three-day visit during which the two sides will renegotiate the defense coop-eration guidelines between Washington and Tokyo.

The trip is also meant to highlight the two countries' long-standing military alliance, a key part of the White House's attempts to refocus its priorities on Asia.

Speaking alongside Japanese Defense Minister General Nakatani, Carter said he was "committed to overseeing the next phase" of the so-called rebalance.

During his talks with Nakatani, Carter also said he "confirmed" the U.S. stance on the East China Sea islands that are at the center of a dispute with China.

"I also reaffirmed President Obama's July 2014 commitment to apply our security treaty to all areas under Japanese administration and our continued strong opposition to any unilateral coercive action that seeks to undermine Japan's administrative control of the Senkaku Islands," he said.美国国防部长卡特星期三在东京与日本防务官员会谈时保证，美国将扩大与日本在防务领域的合作。

星期三是卡特三天访日行程的第一天。访问期间，双方将重新商讨华盛顿和东京之间的防务合作指针。

卡特此次访日还突显了美日两国之间的长期军事同盟关系。这是白宫重返亚洲战略的重要组成部分。

卡特说，他将致力于实施这一再平衡战略的下阶段使命。卡特说这番话时，日本防卫大臣中谷元站在他的身旁。

卡特与中谷元会谈时还表示，他证实美国在东中国海问题上的立场。东中国海岛屿之争是日中关系的焦点。

卡特说：“我还要重申总统奥巴马2014年7月的承诺。我们的安保条约适用于所有日本政府管辖下的领域。我们继续强烈反对任何单方面强制性破坏日本对尖阁列岛行政控制的行动”。