China-Japan: Recent Diplomacy Activity

This is a recent diplomatic news issue which appeared to escalate quickly and drew in the US government as an interceder calling for a resolution to an event which might have assumed much lesser interest if it had happened in Europe. A possible parallel might be Englands claim on Jersey since Norman times.  It is interesting because there is some unresolved history between the two states going back to the Second Sino-Japanese war in Manchuria  between 1937-1941. Every so often the issue of Japan's portrayal of its part in the history of the conflict raises its head as an unresolved issue when the Japanese history syllabus in its schools is discussed or some revision is made to the teaching that continues to depict the Japanese as heroic innocents in Manchuria with regard to the 1937-1941 war and therefore not guilty of particular atrocities known to have been committed by the Japanese.

  

Diplomacy

Japan-China Clash over Fishing Boat Incident

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Tokyo -- A Chinese fishing boat had a run in with two ships of the Japan Coast Guard yesterday which resulted in the arrest of the Chinese captain.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry subsequently summoned the Japanese ambassador in Beijing on two occasions to lodge a "strong protest" over Tokyo's handling of the incident.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry, in turn, made a protest of its own.

This is the latest in the the Japan-China territorial dispute over a small group of islets called the Senkakus by Japan and the Diaoyutai by China.

(My insert: The Senkaku Islands dispute, also known as the Diaoyutai Islands dispute or the Pinnacle Islands dispute concerns a group of uninhabited islands which have been claimed by both the People's Republic of China^[1] and the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 1971.
The United States controlled the islands as part of its occupation of Okinawa from 1945 to 1972. Other than the years of American oversight, these small islands have been effectively controlled and administered as part of Japan.^[2]
The controversial diplomatic issues of sovereignty are marked by a complex array of economic and political considerations and consequences.^{[3]   (Source: Wikipedia)}

The incident also comes about two days after DPJ leadership candidate Ichiro Ozawa declared on national television that, "The biggest problem is the Senkaku Islands. At no point in history have the Senkaku Islands been Chinese territory."

According to the Japanese government's account, two Coast Guard ships spotted the Chinese boat fishing in their territorial waters and then gave chase when the boat attempted to flee. After the Chinese captain deliberately rammed the Japan Coast Guard vessels with his own boat, he was detained and later arrested for obstructing public duties.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku stated, "We will handle the matter firmly in accordance with the law... It is important that in Japan we not get overly excited."

However, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said, "We demand Japanese patrol boats refrain from so-called law enforcement activities in waters off the Diaoyu islands and refrain from actions that would threaten the security of Chinese fishing boats and their crew."

She added, "The Diaoyu Islands and its adjacent islets have been Chinese territory since ancient times."

The Chinese captain has been taken to Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture, where he is being dealt with under Japanese legal procedures.

A government spokesman commented to PanOrient News that Japan would "address this issue rigorously based on domestic laws taking into account the degree and the characteristics of the violation."


PanOrient News