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The building of stable relations between Japan and China cannot be expected if only a mood of friendship is created without progress being made on any of the pending issues.
China has the primary responsibility to resolve all these issues. Beijing should take specific measures as soon as possible.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya visited China and met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. During their talks, which lasted for about three hours, the two ministers reaffirmed the promotion of a “mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests.” They also agreed that Wang will visit Japan early next year and the two countries will hold a ministerial-level economic dialogue during that visit.
During the meeting, Wang said, “A stable China-Japan relationship contributes to greater stability in Asia, and a stable Asia, in turn, enables the region to play a more important role in the world.”
Last month, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the first time on the sidelines of an international conference in Peru. It is essential that the two sides continue to engage in multilayered dialogues and steadily address the various issues between Japan and China.
However, rather than moving toward a resolution, the pending issues are actually worsening.
This month, the government spotted a buoy newly installed by Chinese authorities within Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) south of Yonaguni Island in Okinawa Prefecture. The buoy was marked China Meteorological Administration.
A Chinese buoy had also been found in Japan’s EEZ off the Senkaku Islands in the summer of 2023, and another in the waters of Japan’s continental shelf south of Shikoku in June this year. Some believe that these buoys were placed to gather information on submarines belonging to such countries as Japan and the United States, and to investigate submarine cables around Japan.
During the meeting with Wang, Iwaya demanded the immediate removal of all the buoys. Neither Japan nor China has explained how Wang responded to this demand. In the first place, the Japanese government did not disclose the existence of the new buoy until after the foreign ministers’ meeting.
It would be pathetic if Japan was hesitant to make a public announcement because it feared a deterioration in Japan-China relations at a time when Japan’s maritime interests could be under threat.
Placing buoys in Japan’s EEZ without its consent is a violation of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. If China does not comply with Japan’s demand to remove them, Japan will need to consider removing them after giving prior notice.
Iwaya also reiterated Japan’s call for the Chinese government to lift its restrictions on imports of Japanese marine products as soon as possible. A plan to resume imports had been reaffirmed at the Ishiba-Xi meeting last month. The Chinese government’s failure yet to actually resume imports shows a lack of good faith.
With regard to the fatal stabbing of a boy who was attending a Japanese school in Shenzhen in September, the Chinese government is still refusing to explain the motive or other aspects of the crime. It is not at all credible of China to only make general statements such as that it is ensuring the safety of foreign residents, including Japanese nationals.
