BEIJING: China is perplexed over an updated US-Japanese strategic agreement, saying its reference to Taiwan violates China's national sovereignty and its criticism of China's military buildup is "untenable."

The complaint, issued by the Foreign Ministry, reflected deep government concern over Japan's evolving decision to lean toward closer security cooperation with the United States in East Asia, including on the issue of Taiwan.

Although Japan has not spelled out what military assistance it might provide, to Chinese ears the accord sounded like a promise to help the United States defend Taiwan in the event of war.

"The statement included the Taiwan issue, which relates to China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security," said Kong Quan, the chief ministry spokesman. "The Chinese government and people strongly oppose this statement."

The revised US-Japanese strategic understanding, issued on Saturday after a meeting of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld with their Japanese counterparts, for the first time included security in the area around Taiwan as a "common strategic objective." This was described by US officials as a new element in a close military association that dates from the aftermath of World War II.

In addition, the US-Japanese statement drew attention to China's rapid military modernization program, calling it a matter of concern, and urged Beijing to be more transparent in its military planning and weapons procurement.

"While we should maintain good relations with China, we must also pay attention to its military moves," said Yoshinori Ono, director of the Japanese Defence Agency, according to the Kyodo news service.

The focus on China's military improvements also drew sharp criticism in Sunday's statement from Beijing. China's foreign and defence policies are aimed at increasing security and fostering economic development in the region and should be no cause for concern by neighbouring countries, Kong said.

"Any indiscreet remarks or criticisms on the construction of China's defences, which aim to maintain security and territorial integrity, are untenable," he added.

North Korea also bristled at the US-Japanese understanding, which expressed deep concern over North Korea's refusal to continue negotiations on its declared nuclear weapons arsenal.

The Pyongyang government, through its KCNA news service, said Japan's defence policy changes amount to a plot to "reinvade" - a reference to Japan's World War II occupation of Korea - and showed Japan was joining Washington's "vicious, hostile policy" toward North Korea.

With US endorsement, China has been leading an effort by six nations - Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Russia, China and the United States - to solve the stand off over North Korea's nuclear weapons programme through diplomacy. A senior Chinese Communist Party delegation in Pyongyang this weekend was reported to be urging the North Korean leadership to rethink its decision to suspend participation.

Even before Saturday's revised strategic cooperation agreement, tension had been rising recently between China and Japan. Public animosity has focused on overlapping claims to exclusive economic zones in the East China Sea and sovereignty over a tiny group of islands south of Okinawa. But privately as well, a senior diplomat pointed out, Chinese officials have expressed increasing concern over Japan's apparent willingness to cooperate more closely with the United States in the defence of key waters north of Taiwan.

The United States has pledged to help in the defence of Taiwan, potentially including the dispatch of military forces to counter any attack by China across the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait.

In that light, Japanese help in defending the sea lanes north of Taiwan would be of great value to the US military if the US Navy were ordered into the area. "That's Taiwan's lifeline," the diplomat said.

The government in Beijing considers Taiwan to be a province of China that must, one way or another, reunite with the mainland. Chinese rulers have emphasized peaceful means to bring this about but also have pledged to use force if necessary to prevent the island from moving toward formal independence.

The military build-up cited by Washington and Tokyo in large measure has been designed to back up that threat. China has emphasized gaining the weaponry and expertise necessary to apply military pressure against Taiwan, if that becomes necessary.

In addition, it has sought to extend the might and reach of its naval and air force to oblige the United States at least to think twice about intervening in the area.

In that context, in addition to the dispute over East China Sea economic zones, a recent defence policy assessment from the Japanese government cited China as a potential threat. That also generated an outcry in China, where memories of Japanese atrocities against Chinese during World War II remain vivid and lend strength to nationalist groups eager for confrontation. -Dawn/The LAT-WP News Service (c) The Washington Post