Japan, US agree on second missile deal

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The United States and Japan agreed on Monday to put a second missile defense system in Japan to protect the country from the threat of missile attacks, a move that has raised Chinese concerns.

Analysts said the system can reach as far as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and China.

Citing Japanese officials, The Associated Press reported that the radar installation will be somewhere in the south of Japan, but not Okinawa. The exact location has not yet been determined.

The US has similar early warning radar systems on ships in the Asia-Pacific, and this second Japan-based system will allow US vessels to spread out and cover other parts of the Asia-Pacific region, said AP.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Japanese officials have insisted that the radar system will not aim at China.

The system "will enhance the alliance's ability to defend Japan, our forward deployed forces and the US homeland from a ballistic missile threat posed by North Korea," Panetta said during a news conference in Tokyo with Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto, Reuters reported.

Morimoto said in the meeting with Panetta that it's very important to have an even stronger US-Japan alliance when facing various challenges, according to Japan's Kyodo News.

Ties between China and Japan have been strained by escalating tension caused by their dispute over the Diaoyu Islands.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular news conference on Monday that China hopes the US sticks to an impartial stance in the dispute over the islands.

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.