Asia-Pacific journalists discuss defense guideline issues> Concern among Asian countries about the revisions last month to the Japanese-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines has still not eased.

Despite a pledge by Tokyo and Washington to make the new defense arrangement transparent, journalists from across the region were skeptical during a forum held Tuesday and Wednesday in Tokyo. Eleven journalists discussed security matters at the Asia-Pacific Journalists Meeting, sponsored by the Foreign Press Center in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry and the Japan Foundation.

"The mistake (Japan and the U.S. made in revising the 1978 defense guidelines) is in its timing," said Thomas Plate, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Because Sino-Taiwanese relations have improved and Beijing's leadership has stabilized, Plate said the announcement of the new guidelines should have been shelved. Criticizing the guidelines for lacking transparency, Plate said such a bilateral alliance runs counter to the triangular diplomacy that is needed between Japan, China and the U.S.

Both Japan and the U.S. insist the new guidelines will serve as a deterrent to conflict in the Asia-Pacific region, but many participants at the symposium believe otherwise. "Such bilateral defense arrangements may only raise the concerns of neighboring countries," said Qixiang Huang, a chief editor at the People's Daily, calling on all members of the region to step up dialogue and consultations at various levels to create a new regional security environment.

"How China will react is the most important factor. And we don't want to see China feel it is being targeted (by the new guidelines)," said Koon Choy Leong, executive editor for economic news and corporate information services for Malaysia's Bernama news agency. That would revive the kind of political tension seen during the Cold War, he said.

Some panelists said their countries guardedly welcome the guidelines as a deterrent, but certain concerns remain due to Japan's past aggression and the new guidelines' lack of transparency. "The Japanese government must thoroughly consult with the (South) Korean government, because Korea was a colony of Japan only until some 50 years ago," said Misook Lee, a staff writer at the Munhwa Ilbo newspaper. "Most Koreans are suspicious that Japan may have an ambition to be a military superpower again.