Japan never had smooth ties with China, says deputy PM Taro Aso

Japan has never in the past 1,500 years had a smooth relationship with China, Japanese deputy prime minister Taro Aso was quoted on Sunday as saying during a visit to India.

“India shares a land border with China, and Japan has had maritime contacts [with China], but for the past 1,500 years and more there has never been a history when our relations with China went extremely smoothly,” Aso said, according to the Nikkei and the Sankei Shimbun newspapers.

The comments on Saturday at a meeting with Indian business people in New Delhi came amid continuing tensions between Japan and China over disputed Tokyo-controlled islands in the East China Sea.

Aso, a former prime minister, made the comment in response to a suggestion that Japan and India should strengthen defence and maritime co-operation since both have territorial disputes with China, the Sankei said.

India and China are in dispute over an alleged incursion by Chinese troops deep inside Indian-claimed territory.

Aso also called for close defence co-operation between Japan, Australia, India, and the United States to ensure regional stability, according to major media.