William Hung
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China presses Japan to keep S China Sea row off G7 agenda | TODAYonline
TOKYO — China has pressed Japan not to broach Beijing’s disputes with regional neighbours in the South China Sea at the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit, to be held in Japan in May, arguing that touching on the issue would hamper efforts to improve bilateral relations, said diplomatic sources over the weekend.
China pressed the point to Japan at a vice-foreign ministerial gathering held in Tokyo in late February, the sources told Kyodo News. But Japan rebuffed the Chinese demand, saying the international community cannot accept China’s building of artificial islands in the sea and their militarisation, they said.
China is embroiled in overlapping territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea with Taiwan and four members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN): Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is eager to clearly state the importance of the rule of law in the G7 leaders’ declaration after securing unity over the South China Sea issue at the G7 Foreign ministers’ meeting taking place in Hiroshima in April.
If Japan does raise the issue at the summit, Chinese ire could cast a pall over budding signs of improvement in bilateral ties marred by a territorial spat surrounding islands in the East China Sea.
The Chinese diplomat went on to warn that how Japan approaches the issue at the G7 summit will be a litmus test of whether bilateral ties can be improved and that China will be watching closely, said the sources.