By Guo Ji (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-30 08:21

The defense departments of China and Japan are still consulting on whether Japan's Self-Defense Force (SDF) should send a transport plane carrying relief supplies, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said yesterday.

"In order to have relief materials sent to the quake-hit areas more quickly, based on consensus reached through consultation, some countries have used military planes to carry the materials and some countries' militaries have offered materials such as tents," Qin said at a regular briefing.

But whether Japan's SDF will send a transport plane to China will be decided by the two countries' defense departments, he said.

"The issue of a Japanese SDF plane coming to China is still under consultation," he said.

Qin said China appreciates the help from the international community.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said at a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday that Japan was considering positively China's call for more international aid.

"It is not entirely clear, but I think they want SDF tents and blankets to be transported to a Chinese airport by SDF planes," Machimura said.

But he said China did "not appear to have asked the SDF to engage in transportation operations inside the country" and there were no plans to keep Japanese troops on the ground. The issue hit the headlines of many Japanese newspapers on Wednesday. There were reports that China had requested the SDF's help.

Chinese analysts have blamed the Japanese media for hyping and complicating the situation.

"People are all aware that sending the SDF overseas is a sensitive topic. Before the Chinese government makes a formal and detailed response, it is not nice of the Japanese media to hype the issue," the Chinese-language Global Times quoted a senior analyst as saying yesterday.

(China Daily 05/30/2008 page4)