However, I think you can make a powerful argument that the best way to create incentives and encouragement for China to play a positive role is through a policy of engagement. Obviously, the United States adheres to the Three Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act, and we believe that that provides a framework for a useful U.S. approach to the region as a whole. We support cross-straits dialogue. We would like to see those talks resume, and we believe that China should continue to engage with Taiwan in a peaceful nature and should renounce the use of force. And, indeed, both sides should refrain from provocative actions which needlessly inflame the other.
Japan provides a vehicle and a strong support for the U.S. forward presence in the region.
The United States and Japan, working together, play a powerful, and I think, very positive role in promoting peace and stability. And the overall implications of the security dialogue and the Defense Guidelines Review that has just been completed between the United States and Japan are to create a security and political partnership that is viable for the 21st Century. That partnership is designed to promote peace and stability and to engage China in order to create a peaceful environment in which there is a sense that the United States will be an enduring player in the Asia-Pacific region. We have tried to make clear that the U.S.-Japan relationship is completely open. If China wants to participate and have formal dialogue among the United States and Japan and China, we would be willing to do so.