Japan says time to address China relations
US says it is 'concerned' about relations between the two Asian
economic powerhouses:
JAPAN: Japan's foreign minister Tuesday said it was time to address
relations with China which have soured over a territorial dispute as an
incident targeting the Japanese ambassador added to tensions.
Monday's incident in which the national flag was ripped off a car
carrying the Japanese ambassador in Beijing came amid widespread
anti-Japan demonstrations over a disputed East China Sea island chain
known in China as Diaoyu and in Japan as Senkaku.
Describing the incident as "very regrettable", Foreign Minister
Koichiro Gemba said he would send an envoy to deliver a letter to
Chinese President Hu Jintao.
He declined to elaborate on the contents, but said it was a good
opportunity to address ties that have soured over the island dispute.
"I believe that we must exchange opinions now on the situation of
Japan-China relations, on the situation of the region as a whole,
including the Korean peninsula, as well as the global situation," Gemba
said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, the government's top
spokesman, hinted at the wider diplomatic issues at play, saying the
letter to Hu was about "developing stable Japan-China relations based on
a broad view".
Despite their large and mutually important trade relationship, ties
between Tokyo and Beijing are often blighted by historical animosities,
especially war-time atrocities carried out by the invading Japanese
army.
Japan's Finance Minister Jun Azumi, who last week hinted Japan may
freeze its plan to buy South Korean government bonds amid a separate
diplomatic tussle with Seoul, added: "I hope that (China) will avoid
inviting a situation that would worsen" relations.
Ambassador Uichiro Niwa was not hurt in the Beijing incident and
there was no other damage to his diplomatic vehicle, according to the
Japanese embassy. Senior Vice Foreign Minister Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi was
expected to leave for Beijing later on Tuesday to deliver the letter
from Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to Hu. The United States, a
close ally of Japan, reacted to the flag incident by saying on Monday
that it was "concerned" more broadly about relations between Japan and
China, Asia's two largest economies.
Tensions between the neighbours flared earlier this month after
pro-Beijing activists landed on one of the disputed islands, which are
controlled by Japan. They were arrested by Japanese authorities and
deported.
About a dozen nationalists raised Japanese flags on the island days
later. Thousands of Chinese citizens in more than 20 cities have
protested over the last two weeks. Japanese businesses, restaurants and
cars were targeted in some cities.
Japan was also embroiled in a territorial dispute with South Korea
amid tense relations over issues tied to Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of
the Korean peninsula.
Some analysts have voiced concern that the flare-up between northeast
Asian allies has set back broader interests in the region, where
concerns remain high over North Korea and China's rising clout. AFP
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