Together the population of the U.S. and Japan is only about one-fourth the population of China, but the wealth of the U.S. and Japan together is 40% of the entire world.

Both economically and technologically the U.S. and Japan, two democratic and free market economies, are far ahead of China.

Both the U.S. and Japan have a national interest in not allowing China to become hegemonic in the Asia Pacific area, and if the US and Japan keep their alliance the chance for China asserting hegemony is minimized.

During the Clinton administration which pursued the strange notion of strategic partnership with China, both the U.S. and Japanese administrations seemed sometimes embarrassed by the U.S.-Japan alliance; President Clinton's visit to China and Mr. Koichi Kato's statement about the guidelines were examples of such thinking.

The US -Japan dialogue on defense issues during the Clinton years discussed incinerators owned by a yakuza group in Yamato City and the decrease of omoiyari yosan (sympathy budget) more than what the US and Japan would do in the case of a Korea or Taiwan contingency.

Now the US has a new administration. A tragic accident happened when a U.S. submarine carelessly struck a Japanese training ship resulting in the death of nine Japanese; the US immediately and sincerely apologized.

Now the United States has 24 persons detained illegally on Hainan Island by the Chinese government which wants the US to apologize for legal activity which was interrupted by reckless action by a Chinese fighter.

I believe the presence of the US aircraft off the coast of China was in the national interest of both the US and Japan.

So I hope the US will not apologize for its legitimate activity, and I hope Japan will support the US.

Japan should especially not try to create a "competing" incident over a very minor communication mistake about a US nuclear submarine which anchored very briefly in the entrance to Sasebo in order for a transfer of a person or a spare part.

To make this "tsumaranai mono" an "incident" is similar to the level of dialogue during the period from 1993 to 2000 rather than for the type of dialogue appropriate for the world's two most powerful nations as they enter the 21st century with the intention to upgrade their relationship to the level of the US and the UK.

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