Opinion | Has Japan reneged on 1970s Diaoyu pact?
Frank Ching says proof of the 1970s Sino-Japanese pact to set aside the Diaoyu dispute would show Tokyo is now breaking its pledge
This week marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. However, relations are so bad that Beijing has "adjusted" the reception to celebrate the occasion to "an appropriate time".
Originally, Tang Jiaxuan, president of the China-Japan Friendship Association and a former state councillor, was to host a banquet in Beijing tonight to mark the occasion. But that has now been cancelled.
The present crisis was precipitated by the Japanese government's decision to buy three of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands from their private Japanese owner, in an attempt, it was said, to prevent the right-wing governor of Tokyo from acquiring them.
From China's standpoint, the purchase marked the violation of a tacit understanding between the two governments going back to 1972. As Xinhua explained: "During the negotiations on normalisation of China-Japan relations in 1972 and on the signing of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1978, the then leaders of the two countries, acting in the larger interest of China-Japan relations, reached an important understanding and common ground on 'leaving the issue of the Diaoyu islands to be resolved later'."
Deng Xiaoping proposed shelving the sovereignty issue in favour of joint development of economic resources.
Japanese officials today, however, insist that there was no agreement to shelve the dispute. In fact, from Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on down, they insist that "there is no territorial dispute".