China heaps scorn on Abe remarks to boost US alliance (against China)

Washington (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is in the United States to forge a new and closer alliance with the Unit States in opposition to China. Elected in December, the hawkish Abe arrived in Washington yesterday. Today he is scheduled to meet US President Barack Obama. The timing of the visit is not accidental, given rising tensions with China over a group of islands and North Korea's ever-dangerous threats

.In an interview with a US paper ahead of his trip, Abe voiced hope that the US alliance - and the presence of 47,000 American troops on Japanese soil under a security treaty - would send a message to China. "It is important for us to have them recognise that it is impossible to try to get their way by coercion or intimidation," Abe explained.



VIDEO: CHINA REJECTS ABE’S ACCUSATIONS CCTV News - CNTV English

 The Chinese foreign ministry on Friday continued to slam Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who pointed the finger at China on a slate of domestic issues during an interview prior to his visit to the US.

The ministry accused Japan of playing up the "China threat" with ulterior motives.

"China is strongly dissatisfied with the Japanese leader's comments that distort facts, attack and defame China and stir up confrontations between the two countries," Hong Lei, spokesman for the foreign ministry, told a press briefing.

Hong's comments followed others from Thursday and came in response to Abe's accusations, which claimed China had a "deeply ingrained" need to spar with Japan and neighboring countries to "maintain domestic support," according to the Washington Post.

Echoing the Chinese side's requirement for immediate clarifications, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga explained Friday that the newspaper misquoted Abe's remarks and had caused a misunderstanding.

Suga said the prime minister has repeatedly emphasized the Japan-China relationship and would push forward strategic and mutually beneficial relations.

Despite the explanation, the transcript of the exclusive interview published by the Washington Post on Thursday showed that the hawkish Japanese leader lambasted China's political and education systems among other issues.

During the interview, Abe said that under the one-party rule of the Communist Party and having introduced a market economy, China needs to maintain high economic growth by seeking resources through coercion or intimidation while teaching patriotism mirroring an "anti-Japanese sentiment."

"Obviously, Abe tries to tarnish China's image in the international community and hype up the 'China threat' before talks with Obama in order to win US sympathy and support," Lü Yaodong, a researcher of Japanese politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times Friday.

Hong said that only Chinese people have the right to speak about whether China's political system and development strategy are suitable.

"Only those with political bias and ulterior motives would maliciously interpret and blame them," he noted.

Huang Dahui, director of the Center for East Asia Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that this reflected the "value-oriented" diplomacy Abe has been adopting to "flatter" the US, adding that the hawkish Japanese leader has also stressed propaganda throughout his political career.

Abe was scheduled to meet Obama on Friday. During a press conference on Thursday, White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said the meeting is a "further symbol of the President's commitment to the US-Japan alliance as a cornerstone of US economic and security policy, and as a cornerstone of the US-Asia policy."

Danny Russel, senior director for Asia at the National Security Council, said the two leaders are expected to discuss maritime security issues and territorial claims both in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

In his interview with the Washington Post, Abe also warned that without changing its current policy, China would lose the confidence of the international community, which will result in a loss of foreign investment.

"The logic is ridiculous. It is Japan that has stirred up provocation by 'nationalizing' the Diaoyu Islands. It should rethink its own policies," said Lü.

Regarding such remarks, Russel said Obama would listen to Abe's assessment and views on the current situation in the East China Sea and the consultations between Tokyo and Beijing. He added that the US opposition to coercive actions or unilateral steps threatening the stability of the region has been "clear."

A commentary carried by the Xinhua News Agency on Friday said the US should not be "hijacked" by Japan over the territorial dispute with China, as the US support for Japan on this issue "would not only damage Washington's credibility as a constructive superpower, but also as an important partner of China on many pressing global issues."

Huang said in terms of China-related issues, the US would show its support to Japan as an ally, but would not be led by Japan to sacrifice the China-US relationship.

Sources: AsiaNews.it/Global Times

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Japan's smear campaign, trade bards with China over radar incident near disputed isles

Japan's smear campaign, trade bards with China over radar incident near disputed isles

Beijing accused Tokyo Thursday of mounting a smear campaign after Japan said a Chinese frigate had locked its weapons-targeting radar on a Japanese warship in a “threat of force.”

 Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Yuudachi is seen in this undated handout photo released by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and obtained by Reuters on February 5, 2013. A Chinese vessel pointed a type of radar normally used to help guide missiles at a Japanese navy ship near disputed East China Sea islets, prompting the Japanese government to lodge a protest with China. Image by: HANDOUT / REUTERS

The world’s second- and third-largest economies are at loggerheads over uninhabited Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Tokyo and Diaoyu by Beijing, which claims them.

The radar incident, which Japan said happened last week, marked the first time the two nations’ navies have locked horns in a dispute that has some commentators warning about a possible armed conflict.

Asked to respond to Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera’s description of the radar targeting as a “threat of force”, Beijing foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: “Recently Japan has been hyping up crisis and deliberately creating tension to smear China’s image.

“This move is counter to the improvement of relations,” she told a regular briefing.

“The current problem is not China being assertive but about Japanese ships’ and airplanes’ repeated illegal activities in the airspace and waters of the Diaoyu islands, which undermine China’s territorial sovereignty.”

The long-running row over the islands intensified in September when Tokyo nationalised part of the chain, triggering fury in Beijing and huge anti-Japan demonstrations across China.

Beijing has repeatedly sent ships and aircraft near the islands and both sides have scrambled fighter jets, though there have been no clashes.

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The Chinese Defense Ministry has denied that a Chinese navy vessel aimed weapon-targeting radar at a Japanese navy ship in the East China Sea. It’s also called on Japan to stop violating China’s territorial sovereignty.



The Ministry says the vessel was conducting normal training on January 30th, when it detected a Japanese naval ship following it. The Chinese vessel used normal radar to monitor, contrary to Japanese claims.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also says Japan is provoking tension over the Diaoyu islands by intentionally stirring up a crisis. It says Japan is continuously sending its ships and aircraft into the waters and airspace around the Diaoyu Islands to carry out illegal activities.

China and Japan engaged on Friday in a fresh round of invective over military movements near a disputed group of uninhabited islands, fueling tensions that for months have bedevilled relations between the two major Asian powers.

China’s defense ministry rejected a Japanese allegation that a naval vessel had aimed a weapons-targeting radar at a Japanese military ship in the East China Sea, its first comment on the week-old incident. It said Japan’s intrusive tracking of Chinese vessels was the “root cause” of the renewed tension.

A Japanese official on Friday dismissed the Chinese explanation for the Jan 30 incident. He said Beijing’s actions could precipitate a dangerous situation in waters around the islets, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, believed to be rich in oil and gas.

China’s defense ministry, in a faxed statement issued late on Thursday, said Japan’s remarks “do not match the facts”. The Chinese ship’s radar, it said, had maintained regular alerting operations and “did not use fire control radar.”

The ministry said the Chinese ship was tracked by a Japanese destroyer during routine training exercises. Fire control radar pinpoints the location of a target for missiles or shells and its use can be considered a step short of actual firing.

Japan, it said, had recently “made irresponsible remarks that hyped up the so-called ‘China threat’, recklessly created tension and misled international public opinion.

“In recent years, Japanese warships and airplanes have often conducted long periods of close-range tracking and surveillance of China’s naval ships and airplanes. This is the root cause of air and maritime security issues between China and Japan.”

In Tokyo, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference on Friday: “We cannot accept China’s explanation.”

Japan’s allegations, he said, had been “a result of our defense ministry’s careful and detailed analysis. We urge China to take sincere measures to prevent dangerous actions which could cause a contingency situation.”

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said this week that the incident could have become very dangerous very quickly, and that use of the radar could be seen as a threat of military force under U.N. rules.

Hopes have been rising in recent weeks for a thaw in ties after months of tension, sparked, in part, by Japan’s nationalisation of three of the privately owned islets last September.

Fears that encounters between aircraft and ships could degenerate into an accidental clash have given impetus to efforts to improve links, including a possible summit between Abe and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who takes over as head of state in March.

China’s premier-in-waiting Li Keqiang, meanwhile, urged marine surveillance staff on Thursday to intensify law enforcement in China’s sea territories, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

“Supervising and governing seas under the jurisdiction of China is the main responsibility of Chinese marine surveillance staff,” Li, who is expected to take over as China’s premier next month, was quoted as saying.

It is believed the island chain—which is also claimed by Taiwan (a province of China)

Sources: AFP/Japan Todayh/Reauters/CCTV

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Would the 3 Japanese wise men invited by China help ties with Japan?

SINCE last month, tensions over the disputed islands in the East China Sea, known as Diaoyu to China and Senkaku to Japan, have noticeably declined, largely as a result of conciliatory words and actions by Japanese political figures visiting China.

The first was by Yukio Hatoyama of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, who was prime minister in 2009-2010 and who had advocated closer ties with China while in office. Hatoyama took issue with Japan's position of denying that there was a territorial dispute, saying "if you look at history, there is a dispute".

The former leader also visited a memorial in Nanjing honouring those who were killed in 1937 and apologised for "the crimes that Japanese soldiers committed during wartime".

Hatoyama's visit was widely publicised in the Chinese media, which published pictures of him and his wife at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial bowing in silent tribute to the dead.

The normally nationalistic Chinese newspaper Global Times declared editorially: "Hatoyama's words and deeds these days show that in spite of the tough environment, forces which are friendly to China have not disappeared."

Shortly after Hatoyama's departure from China, Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of the New Komeito Party -- a coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party -- arrived in China, carrying with him a letter from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for Xi Jinping, the new leader of the Communist Party of China.

Yamaguchi was received by Xi on Jan 25, and, aside from passing over the letter from the prime minister, he also suggested that the territorial dispute be shelved for now and to let future generations deal with the issue.

Xi no doubt knew that the Japanese politician was paraphrasing the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping who, while visiting Tokyo in 1978, famously said, "Our generation is not wise enough to find common language on this question. Our next generation will certainly be wiser. They will certainly find a solution acceptable to all."

Alas, no solution is yet in sight and the best policy is to put the dispute back on the shelf.

Yamaguchi also suggested a summit meeting between Abe and Xi, and the Chinese leader responded that he would consider it seriously if there was a "proper environment".

Xi also said that China wanted to promote a "strategic relationship of mutual benefit" with Japan.

Soon, a third influential Japanese political figure arrived, another former prime minister, Tomiichi Murayama, whose visit, like the other two, contributed to the establishment of an improved environment.

It was Murayama who, while in power, issued an apology on historical issues that was widely hailed in Asia.

The visits by these three Japanese figures have contributed to a lowering of tensions, making it possible to envisage a thaw in China-Japan relations.

What is significant is that these three men were all invited by Beijing, which of course had a good idea of what they were likely to say and do. That is to say, without denigrating their contributions to the lessening of the impasse, the improved atmosphere of the last few weeks was largely the result of initiatives taken by China.

Japan, too, clearly wants to keep tensions low. Abe has now made it clear that he endorses the Murayama's statement, although there is still some talk of making a new statement "suitable to the 21st century". But there is unlikely to be any backtracking.

It is imperative at this stage that both Japan and China recognise the delicate political environment in the other's country. Each should rein in its own aggressive nationalistic forces.

It is also necessary for each side not to say or do anything that may be humiliating or embarrassing to the other side. Threatening to fire "warning shots", for example, is not helpful.

A lot of damage has been done to China-Japan relations. It will take time for the relationship to heal.

When Abe became prime minister for the first time in 2006, he went to China on his first overseas visit to mend relations damaged during the premiership of Junichiro Koizumi, who insisted on visiting the Yasukuni Shrine each year.

This led to a dramatic improvement in relations, with Premier Wen Jiabao making an "ice-melting" visit to Japan in 2007, followed by a presidential visit by Hu Jintao the following year.

Another China-Japan summit will be indispensable if ties are to be rebuilt.

This, however, cannot take place until the necessary groundwork has been laid. Both sides will have to work hard at this. And flexibility should be the watchword.

The row over the disputed islets, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, are seen in this file handout photograph taken on a marine surveillance plane B-3837 on December 13, 2012, and provided by the State Oceanic Administration of People's Republic of China. A long-simmering row over the East China Sea islands, has noticeably declined, largely as a result of conciliatory words and actions by Japanese political figures visiting China. Reuters pic 

By Frank Ching New Straits Times

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China sends fighters to counter Japan's war planes

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China’s Ministry of National Defense has denounced Japanese military aircraft disrupting the routine patrols of Chinese administrative aircraft.

At a press conference, an official with the ministry confirmed that China sent two J-10 fighters to the East China Sea, after a Y-8 aircraft was closely followed by two Japanese F-15 fighters. The Y-8 aircraft was patrolling the southwest airspace of the East China Sea oil platform on Thursday.

According to the official, the two J-10 fighters were sent to monitor the Japanese fighter jets tailing the Y-8 as well as another Japanese reconnaissance plane spotted in the same airspace. The official said Japanese military aircraft have been increasingly active in closely scouting Chinese aircraft.

The official said the Chinese military will be on high alert and China will resolutely protect the security of its air defense force and uphold its legitimate rights. The official also called for the Japanese side to respect relevant international laws and to prevent security disputes by taking effective measures.

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Japanese military aircraft disrupting the routine patrols of Chinese administrative aircraft

At a press conference, an official with the ministry confirmed that China sent two J-10 fighters to the East China Sea after a Y-8 aircraft was closely followed by two Japanese F-15 fighters as it patrolled the southwest airspace of the East China Sea oil platform on Thursday. Full story >>

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 Japan tracer bullets will bring war closer

According to Japanese media, the Japanese government is considering permitting Japanese self-defense forces' fighter jets to fire tracer bullets as warning shots against Chinese surveillance planes which have "infringed" upon Japan's "territorial airspace" over the Diaoyu Islands.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday that China has consistently opposed Japan's infringement upon China's sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands. China "remains vigilant against attempts to escalate the tensions."

The Chinese spokesman's statement is not enough to express the Chinese people's strong determination to fight back against Japan's unscrupulous action.

We believe that if Japan starts using tracer bullets, it will definitely trigger a military confrontation between China and Japan. Chinese people will certainly ask the government to send naval and air forces to retaliate.

Tracer bullets were used by Japan to warn Soviet Union surveillance aircraft above the Okinawa Prefecture in 1987. However, the relationship between the Soviet Union and Japan was one of war and invasion. The Diaoyu Islands are a typical disputed area.

We believe that China is carefully assessing plans to deploy combat aircraft to the Diaoyu Islands due to the imbalance between China's surveillance aircraft and Japan's fighter jets. If Japan uses tracer bullets, Chinese fighter jets are bound to be sent to the Diaoyu Islands.

China's replacing surveillance aircraft with fighter jets does not mean they will conduct military operations there. These are upgrades of China's ability to defend its sovereignty in the face of Japan's provocations. All of East Asia would face tension in that scenario, but we have no choice. We do not wish to begin a war with Japan. However, if Japan insists on provocations, we will follow it through to the end.

If the Chinese government does not earnestly prepare for it, it will certainly suffer huge political losses. The public wouldn't understand that and they would not accept any interpretations by the government.

China may fall into military conflict with Japan eventually. We hope we can continue our peaceful development, but our risk management strategies are more complex due to various pressures.

There is little room for concessions. Therefore, let us abandon all hesitation and seriously prepare for mutual warnings and confrontation with Japan over the Diaoyu Islands. If the situation goes awry, we must make Japan pay more of a price than China.

The Diaoyu Islands dispute will test the Chinese government's leadership for a long time. But we should have confidence: our rival is a bully which can even bear US military occupation. As long as we keep tough, we will not lose this test of wills. - Global Times



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