trident2010
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2010
- Messages
- 2,775
- Reaction score
- -9
- Country
- Location
Japan rejects China's demand for apology
Japan strongly rejected a Chinese demand on Saturday that it apologize for detaining a Chinese fishing boat captain whose arrest after a collision near disputed islands plunged relations between the two Asian powers to their lowest level in years.
Japanese authorities released the captain, Zhan Qixiong, early Saturday and he was flown home by chartered plane to Fuzhou in Chinas southeastern Fujian province.
State broadcaster China Central Television showed Mr. , 41, smiling and holding his fingers in a victory sign as he walked off the plane. He was greeted by family members bearing flowers and a small group of government officials.
But hopes that his release would defuse mounting tensions were dashed when China promptly demanded an apology and compensation from Japan.
It is unlawful and invalid for Japan to detain, investigate or take any form of judicial measures against the Chinese fishermen and trawler, Chinas Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The Japanese side must make an apology and compensation for this incident.
Japans Foreign Ministry said the demands were groundless and absolutely cannot be accepted.
The captains detention and investigation were an appropriate and calm response according to our nations laws, it said in a statement.
The diplomatic backandforth Saturday demonstrated that nationalistic sentiments stirred up by the incident show few signs of dissipating. Tensions have already affected business ties between the nations intertwined economies, the worlds second and thirdlargest.
Mr. Zhan was arrested on September 8 after his boat collided with two Japanese patrol vessels near a chain of islands called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan. The islands, about 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of Taiwan, are controlled by Japan but are also claimed by Taiwan and China.
Japanese prosecutors detained and questioned the captain while they decided whether to press charges, though his 14member crew and boat were returned to China.
Mr. Zhans release came after intense pressure from Beijing, which suspended ministeriallevel contacts with Tokyo and postponed talks on developing disputed undersea gas fields. This past week, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao sternly threatened further action against Japan if it did not immediately release the captain.
I firmly support the Chinese governments stance, Mr. Zhan said on Saturday after returning to China. Diaoyu islands belong to China. Its legal that I go there to fish but its illegal that they detained me. I did not violate the law.
The decision by Japanese prosecutors to let him go has prompted criticism within Japan. An editorial on Saturday in the nationally circulated Yomiuri newspaper blasted the captains release as a political decision that put the mending of relations as a priority.
Needless to say, the Senkaku islands are part of Japans territory. The government must continue to assert this view both domestically and abroad, it said.
The tensions have spilled over into other issues.
On Thursday, Beijing said it was investigating four Japanese suspected of entering a military zone without authorization and illegally filming military facilities. The four employees of Fujita Corp., a Japanese construction company, were working to prepare a bid for a project to dispose chemical weapons abandoned in China by the Japanese military during World War II, the company said.
Meanwhile, Japanese trading company officials said that starting Tuesday, China had halted exports to Japan of rare earth elements, which are essential for making superconductors, computers, hybrid electric cars and other hightech products. Japan imports 50 percent of Chinas rare earth shipments.
Chinas Trade Ministry denied that Beijing had tightened curbs on exports of rare earths to Japan, but Japans trade minister, Akihiro Ohata, said he had information that Chinas exports to some Japanese trading houses had been stopped.
The territorial dispute over the islands is one of many that has strained ties between Tokyo and Beijing. Japan annexed the island chain in 1895, saying no nation exercised a formal claim over them. The islands, lying roughly midway between Okinawa and Taiwan, were administered by the United States after World War II until they were returned to Tokyo in 1972.
Washington has signalled its intention to protect its interests in those waters and to keep them open for commerce, drawing Chinas irritation by urging it to resolve the disputes.
The U.S. praised Japans decision to release the captain. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said on Friday that the U.S. hopes the decision will ease tensions between the two longtime Asian rivals.
However, Japanese authorities said they wouldnt officially close the case, leaving room for some ambiguity that would allow both countries to save face.
The Hindu : News / International : Japan rejects China's demand for apology
Japan strongly rejected a Chinese demand on Saturday that it apologize for detaining a Chinese fishing boat captain whose arrest after a collision near disputed islands plunged relations between the two Asian powers to their lowest level in years.
Japanese authorities released the captain, Zhan Qixiong, early Saturday and he was flown home by chartered plane to Fuzhou in Chinas southeastern Fujian province.
State broadcaster China Central Television showed Mr. , 41, smiling and holding his fingers in a victory sign as he walked off the plane. He was greeted by family members bearing flowers and a small group of government officials.
But hopes that his release would defuse mounting tensions were dashed when China promptly demanded an apology and compensation from Japan.
It is unlawful and invalid for Japan to detain, investigate or take any form of judicial measures against the Chinese fishermen and trawler, Chinas Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The Japanese side must make an apology and compensation for this incident.
Japans Foreign Ministry said the demands were groundless and absolutely cannot be accepted.
The captains detention and investigation were an appropriate and calm response according to our nations laws, it said in a statement.
The diplomatic backandforth Saturday demonstrated that nationalistic sentiments stirred up by the incident show few signs of dissipating. Tensions have already affected business ties between the nations intertwined economies, the worlds second and thirdlargest.
Mr. Zhan was arrested on September 8 after his boat collided with two Japanese patrol vessels near a chain of islands called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan. The islands, about 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of Taiwan, are controlled by Japan but are also claimed by Taiwan and China.
Japanese prosecutors detained and questioned the captain while they decided whether to press charges, though his 14member crew and boat were returned to China.
Mr. Zhans release came after intense pressure from Beijing, which suspended ministeriallevel contacts with Tokyo and postponed talks on developing disputed undersea gas fields. This past week, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao sternly threatened further action against Japan if it did not immediately release the captain.
I firmly support the Chinese governments stance, Mr. Zhan said on Saturday after returning to China. Diaoyu islands belong to China. Its legal that I go there to fish but its illegal that they detained me. I did not violate the law.
The decision by Japanese prosecutors to let him go has prompted criticism within Japan. An editorial on Saturday in the nationally circulated Yomiuri newspaper blasted the captains release as a political decision that put the mending of relations as a priority.
Needless to say, the Senkaku islands are part of Japans territory. The government must continue to assert this view both domestically and abroad, it said.
The tensions have spilled over into other issues.
On Thursday, Beijing said it was investigating four Japanese suspected of entering a military zone without authorization and illegally filming military facilities. The four employees of Fujita Corp., a Japanese construction company, were working to prepare a bid for a project to dispose chemical weapons abandoned in China by the Japanese military during World War II, the company said.
Meanwhile, Japanese trading company officials said that starting Tuesday, China had halted exports to Japan of rare earth elements, which are essential for making superconductors, computers, hybrid electric cars and other hightech products. Japan imports 50 percent of Chinas rare earth shipments.
Chinas Trade Ministry denied that Beijing had tightened curbs on exports of rare earths to Japan, but Japans trade minister, Akihiro Ohata, said he had information that Chinas exports to some Japanese trading houses had been stopped.
The territorial dispute over the islands is one of many that has strained ties between Tokyo and Beijing. Japan annexed the island chain in 1895, saying no nation exercised a formal claim over them. The islands, lying roughly midway between Okinawa and Taiwan, were administered by the United States after World War II until they were returned to Tokyo in 1972.
Washington has signalled its intention to protect its interests in those waters and to keep them open for commerce, drawing Chinas irritation by urging it to resolve the disputes.
The U.S. praised Japans decision to release the captain. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said on Friday that the U.S. hopes the decision will ease tensions between the two longtime Asian rivals.
However, Japanese authorities said they wouldnt officially close the case, leaving room for some ambiguity that would allow both countries to save face.
The Hindu : News / International : Japan rejects China's demand for apology
