China's former Japan envoy accuses US of exploiting territorial rows
Former Chinese ambassador to Japan says Washington should distance itself from Tokyo
A former Chinese ambassador to Japan has accused the United States of using China's territorial disputes to expand its own influence in the region.
Chen Jian, who was posted in Tokyo between 1998 and 2001, said yesterday that the US had been "exploiting contradictions among countries of the region" as tensions run high between China and its neighbours, especially Japan, with which Beijing contests islands in the East China Sea.
"It is no longer a secret that it is in the US interest for countries in this region to quarrel with China, but not to fight with China," Chen, who is dean of Renmin University's school of international relations, said during a talk at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong Kong.
His remarks come amid continued sabre-rattling between Beijing and Tokyo over control of the Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan. The long-running row boiled over last month after Japan's prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, announced his government's purchase of the islands from their private Japanese owner.
Yesterday four China marine surveillance ships were again spotted near the islands. The State Oceanic Administration said they were carrying out "expulsion measures" against nearby Japan Coast Guard ships.
One of the ships displayed an electronic message board informing the Japanese ships they were in China's territorial waters and ordering them to leave, Kyodo News reported. A Japan Coast Guard spokesman said ships from each side flashed signs at the other demanding they leave.