"We do get into that quite a bit," in talks with Chinese leaders, "and our position is very clear: If other countries want to participate in our missile defense, we're happy to have them," the official said.
Taiwan has shown an interest in acquiring from the US sophisticated destroyers equipped with the AEGIS radar and missile defense system.
The sale has been held up by Chinese opposition and also the enormous costs involved in purchasing the vessels.
Whether Japan would be ready to come to Taiwan's defense in case of a Chinese attack will take some time to determine, the US official feels. "That's something we still have to talk to Japan about," he said.
Japan's constitution puts great constraints on the use of its Self Defense Forces for anything but coastal and homeland defense, although there are pressures to lift the restrictions.
Theofficial did take comfort in the fact that Japan has agreed to take part in a multilateral military exercise that began this weekend in the Coral Sea, with ships from the US, Australia, France and Japan, the first time Tokyo has made such a commitment.
The decision reflects "the evolving Japanese thinking," the official said. "It's a significant decision for them, one that we wanted them to make." However, he noted, "it was not an easy decision for them, so you have to take this forward one step at a time."
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