***** "Marines To Train Japanese Troops" *****
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Saturday, December 31, 2005
The Associated Press.

Tokyo--Japanese troops will train with US Marines next year to strengthen Tokyo's defense of islands also claimed by China which are believed to lie near oil and gas resources in the East China Sea.

Japan's self-defense forces will also develop short-range torpedoes for combat in shallow waters, the business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.

The paper said about 125 Japanese troops will be sent to San Diego in January for Joint exercises with Marines simulating a landing on an occupied island.

The islands--called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan--lie in the East China Sea between Taiwan and Japan. They were ceded to Japan by China in an 1895 war and continue to be a frequent source of friction between the nations.

The Nihon Keizai report came days after Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Beijing poses "a considerable military threat" because it has nuclear weapons and is boosting its military spending. China called the remarks irresponsible and groundless.

Relations between Japan and China, linked by billions of dollars of trade, aid and investment, have seen an unprecedented string of clashes over the past year. The two countries have sparred over their wartime history, territorial and resource dusputes, and China's growing military power.

Relations soured further several days ago, when Beijing denounced Tokyo for claiming that Chinese spies drove a Japanese diplomat to commit suicide last year.