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- Feb 11, 2013
- Updated: 12:26pm
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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.
Abe demands apology from Beijing as maritime dispute deepens
Beijing rejects claims that Chinese frigates targeted a Japanese destroyer and helicopter with radar, and accuses Tokyo of 'stirring up crisis'
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday demanded an apology from China after Beijing accused Tokyo of "hyping up the so-called China threat theory" when it released details of two military incidents that sparked a fresh round of angry exchanges.
Japanese media reported last night that Abe had demanded an apology and said China should prevent similar incidents from happening again, referring to Tokyo's claim that Chinese frigates had targeted a Japanese military helicopter and destroyer with fire-control radar last month. "We want China to acknowledge it, apologise for it and make efforts to prevent it from recurring," Abe told BS Fuji TV station, Jiji Press news agency and Mainichi Daily reported.
Abe made the demand as his deputy foreign minister, Chikao Kawai, summoned China's ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua , to lodge a protest after China's Ministry of National Defence said Tokyo's accusations were "false" and slandered China's military training.
Cheng rejected Tokyo's protest and demanded Japan stop making "irresponsible remarks".
"Tokyo should stop stirring up crisis, creating tensions, fanning confrontation and agitating matters," a statement posted online by the Chinese embassy quoted Cheng as saying.
The Defence Ministry in Beijing remained silent for two days, but said in a statement on Thursday the Chinese vessels had been conducting routine training - without using fire-control radar.
It said the frigate spotted the approaching Japanese military helicopter on January 19 and only used navigation radar. On January 30, the ship-borne radar of the Chinese vessel maintained normal observation because it was closely followed by the Japanese destroyer Yudachi.
Tokyo "recklessly created tension and misled international public opinion", the statement said, adding: "We must be vigilant against and ponder such moves by Japan."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said Tokyo had used "petty tricks" and "made things out of nothing".
Ni Lexiong , director of the sea power and defence policy research institute at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said Beijing's reaction would present Tokyo with a dilemma.
"It is difficult for Tokyo to present evidence to reject the Chinese explanation because it may lead to the leaking of advanced technology Tokyo used to detect the kind of radar used by the Chinese frigates," he said.
Jin Canrong , a professor of international relations at Renmin University, believed Tokyo would use the incident to seek support from Washington, especially as Abe would be visiting the US later this month.
Additional reporting by Minnie Chan
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Diaoyus island is always a part of Taiwan since 14 Century until 1895 when Japan occupied Taiwan. it was a part of Japanese war trophies, when Japan occupied Taiwan until its surrender at the end of World War II.
The US administered them as part of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands from 1945 until 1972, when the islands reverted to Japanese control under the Okinawa Reversion Treaty between the US and Japan.
Yes, China is the only force of stability and prevents the repetition of history in the Asian continent. Japanese soldiers killed a large number of noncombatants and engaged in looting and women were not only raped but brutally tortured and mutilated or even buried Chinese or Korean alive when Japanese invasion of Taiwan, China, Korea and other Asian countries. If you were a Nazi prisoner of war you faced a 4% chance of not surviving the war; (by comparison) the death rate for Allied POWs held by the Japanese was nearly 30%
Jennie PC Chiang/江佩珍 02/09/13 美國
10:35am
Transparency is what the international community and press want to see in order to see a clear picture that China’s rise is indeed a ‘peaceful rise’ as they keep stating, but, unfortunately, we only see more covering up and scheming behind the scenes.
If their own citizens don’t trust them, is it not surprising the rest of the world looks upon the Chinese government and rise with deep suspicion?
Denials of locking on their radar to another ship most likely means they did.
10:21am
Japan should instead apologise to China for illegally purchasing Diaoyu Islands when told by China not to do so, and lying that there never was an agreement between the then leaders of China and Japan in 1972, to shelve the dispute over Senkaku/Diaoyu issue for future generations to solve; and intentionally falsifying the record of the dialogue between Prime Minister Tanaka Kakue and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai on September on the 27th and 28th, 1972 (read the article at ****www.forbes.com/sites/stephenharner/2012/10/03/interview-with-professor-yabuki-on-the-senkakudiaoyu-crisis-and-u-s-china-japan-relations/).
Japan had ignored two WW II treaties, requiring it to return Chinese territories, stolen or taken by violence, to China. That makes Japan, a thief. And adding insult to injury, Japan is now acting like a gangster, in enforcing control over Diaoyu Islands, when it has no legitimate authority, whatsoever.
Japan ought to be ashamed of itself and feel remorse for all the wrongs that it had done in WW2 and now. But that is not the case. And taking a leaf from history on how Japan started the war in Nanking in 1931, it is in my opinion, Japan is now intentionally creating an event to start a war with China. If that is the case, Japan is crusing for bruising.
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