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- May 25, 2013
- Updated: 3:13am
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Diaoyu Islands
The Diaoyu Islands are a group of uninhabited islands located roughly due east of mainland China, northeast of Taiwan, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands. They are currently controlled by Japan, which calls them Senkaku Islands. Both China and Taiwan claim sovereignty over the islands.
China 'highly concerned' over Japan's direction under Abe
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China said on Monday it was “highly concerned” over Japan’s future direction under the Shinzo Abe-led Liberal Democratic Party, which won the country’s parliamentary elections.
“We are highly concerned about which direction Japan will take,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a regular briefing after the LDP ousted the Democratic Party of Japan from power in Sunday’s vote.
Hua, who reiterated China’s stance that East China Sea islands disputed between the countries are Chinese territory, also said that China is open to improved ties with Japan
“China is ready to work with Japan for further development of stable relations,” she said, adding that “the current task is now to properly handle the current issue” of the territorial dispute.
Earlier on Monday, Abe, set to become Japan’s new prime minister, said there can be no compromise on the sovereignty of the islands, calling them “Japan’s inherent territory”.
The election victory of Japan’s main conservative party, led by a minister known for his hardline China views, drew a muted response from Beijing but withering criticism from Chinese bloggers.
After weeks of sparring over contested East China Sea islands and warning about resurgent militarism in Japan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry largely avoided mentioning specific disputes and instead said the onus is on Tokyo to improve relations.
“China attaches importance to the direction of Japan’s policy toward China, and hopes Japan will deeply reflect on and properly handle the current difficulty in the China-Japan relations,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular press briefing.
In contrast to Beijing’s low-key approach, the Chinese blogosphere crackled with barbs for the LDP win and especially for Abe.
Some said Abe’s win would push Japan further to the right and bring about the country’s ruin. Others called for a boycott of Chinese goods after Abe was reported in postelection comments to have called for a tougher line over the disputed islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
Asked about Abe’s comments, Hua, the spokeswoman, reiterated Beijing’s claim that the islands are part of China. She urged Abe, without naming him, to focus on the overall benefits that good relations bring to both countries.
“We hope the Japanese politicians can look at the big picture of the development of the China-Japan relations and work with China to drive the sound and stable growth of relations forward,” Hua said.
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10:26pm
Anthony1223 and others like him -- he's far from alone -- need to reflect on the possible causes of this irrational fury. Is it over something else and being deflected onto the Japanese?
As to the idea that doing something to Japan will build trust of China among other nations nearby, I'd suggest that it will do the opposite. Put yourself into the shoes of a Filipino, who is watching China claim islands a few kilometres from their shores or Vietnamese who engaged in border skirmishes years ago or the Indians, who have also seen Chinese troops march onto their territories.
What these countries will do instead is build common defenses against what they see as a China that is out of control.
11:47pm
1:33am
-- Maritime boundary in the Gulf of Tonkin between Vietnam and China
-- Maritime boundary along the Vietnamese coast between Vietnam, China, and Taiwan
-- Maritime boundary in the waters north of the Natuna Islands between Indonesia, China, and Taiwan
-- Maritime boundary north of Borneo between Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei
-- Islands in the southern reaches of the South China Sea, including the Spratley Islands by Vietnam, Malaysia, The Philippines, Taiwan, and China
-- Maritime boundary off the coast of central Philippines and Luzon between the Philippines, China, and Taiwan
-- Islands in the northern reaches of the South China Sea, including the Paracel Islands between Vietnam, China, and Taiwan
-- Land boundary between China and India
In the cases of the Sino-Indian Border Conflict of 1962 and the Sino-Vietnamese war of 1979, China has resorted to armed force, with over 30 thousand casualties in the latter.
In addition, the Tibetans seem to have a bone to pick over Han domination.
The resurgence of the Han has been peaceful, except when it's not. China's stance in the latest dispute is seen as very aggressive, even by people that aren't fond of the Japanese.
What many Chinese see as keeping China down is seen by everyone else as self-preservation.
9:35pm
