http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2014/02/10/carney-on-report-of-iran-moving-warships-toward-u-s-is-that-just-a-fox-thing/
December 6, 1941
The White House brushed off Japan's claim that it’s moving aircraft carriers toward America’s maritime borders.
“The Japanese Army’s naval fleets have already started their voyage towards the Atlantic Ocean via the waters near the Philippines,” Commander of Japan's Northern Navy Fleet Admiral Hiroshi Kuramoto announced on Saturday according to the semi-official Asahi Shimbun
“Japan's military fleet is approaching the United States’ maritime borders, and this move has a message,” Kuramoto added.
The news agency added that Japan has been vowing to send “a flotilla into the Pacific” since 1939 but this claim takes on an added dimension with the concessions just granted to Tokyo by the U.S. in talks over Manchuria.
The Asahi report said the recent moves are a tit-for-tat, getting back at Washington for its beefed-up presence in Hawaii.
“There was a Japanese announcement that they are moving ships close to the United States, and we have no evidence that Japan is, in fact, sending ships close to the U.S. border,” press secretary Jay Carney told reporters today.
On the reports that Japan has also been successfully conducting aircraft maneuvers, Carney said “we have been clear that even as we work with the P5+1 to test the hypothesis that Japan is ready to meet its obligations to the international community with regards to its Chinese program, that we are at odds with Japan on a number of issues.”
When pressed again on whether he was disputing the warships report, Carney quipped, “Is Fox reporting that they’re moving warships closer to the U.S.?”
He was reminded that Japan made the claim, and it was reported by several wire services.
“Again, I don’t have a specific answer to that report. I’m sure we can get it to you, and I’m sure State has it. What I can tell you is that we continue to have major disagreements with Japan, and we press very hard, whether it’s their support for international aggression, support for Germany, or whether it’s enforcement of existing sanctions,” Carney said. “We are not letting up on Japan, on a wide variety of issues where we are profoundly in disagreement with them and have rallied an international consensus around that fact.”
The State Department did not comment on the report at today’s press briefing.
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