FOCUS: Rumored China-Russia tie-up tests Japan over territory+

BEIJING, Nov. 3 Kyodo -
As a fresh diplomatic row brews between Japan and Russia after President Dmitry
Medvedev on Monday became the first Russian leader to visit one of four
disputed islands off Hokkaido, Beijing appears to continue playing hardball
with Tokyo over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
''Japan is unable to afford having tensions with China and Russia at the same
time,'' Liu Junhong, a researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies at the
China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, was quoted as saying
Tuesday in the Global Times, a paper published by the Communist Party of
China's People's Daily.
''It's time for Japanese politicians to reflect on their diplomatic policy and
sort out a solution,'' Liu was quoted as saying, a comment taken as suggesting
that Tokyo should compromise in a dispute with Beijing over the Senkaku
Islands, administered by Japan but claimed by China.
Calling the Japan-Russia row a ''bilateral issue,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman Hong Lei told journalists Tuesday that Beijing hopes the two
countries will deal appropriately with the dispute over the four islands held
by Russia but claimed by Japan ''through a friendly dialogue.''
But some analysts suspect China and Russia may have built a ''tacit tie-up''
against Japan to take advantage of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's
diplomatic inexperience and deterioration in Japan-U.S. ties in a row over the
relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture.
Behind such speculation was a meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and
Medvedev in Beijing on Sept. 27 during which the leaders signed a joint
statement that called for ''mutual support for each other's core interests,
including national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.''
Japan-China relations had already been strained at that time following Tokyo's
arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain in maritime collisions Sept. 7 near
the Senkakus, which China calls Diaoyu. Japan freed the captain later.
Medvedev said Sept. 29 that he would ''soon'' visit the islands, known in Japan
as the Northern Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils, sparking
warnings from Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and other Japanese officials that
he should not do so.
Besides Monday's tour to Kunashiri Island, which drew strong protests from
Japan, Medvedev plans to visit other islands among the four, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying Tuesday by Interfax news agency.
On Tuesday, Hong urged Japan to ''create appropriate conditions'' for improving
bilateral ties ahead of a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum
in Yokohama on Nov. 13-14, indicating Hu and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan
could meet there bilaterally if Maehara stops making tough remarks against
China.
China also dismissed a U.S. call for a trilateral meeting with Japan and China
to defuse tension over the Senkaku Islands, and criticized the U.S. position
that the islets are covered by the Japan-U.S. security treaty, which obliges
Washington to defend them in the case of foreign attack.
Sources familiar with Japan-China relations say that while China recognizes it
would be difficult to actually make the islands its territory, Beijing's
initial goal is to shift Tokyo's stance that the islands are an integral part
of Japanese territory, and that no territorial dispute exists between the two
countries.
''Tokyo should not slam the door for 'common development' (in and around the
islands). Instead, it should acknowledge the existing dispute, respect
historical facts and seek bilateral dialogue with China,'' Liu Jiangyong, a
professor at the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University,
said in a one-page special on the Senkaku dispute in the Oct. 27 issue of the
China Daily that also presented views of four other experts.
One of the four, Hu Feiyue, special guest commentator for the paper, said,
''Since Japan has been continually strengthening its control over the Diaoyu
Islands, it is not enough for China to only send patrol boats to the islands.
Instead, China should continue to modernize its navy.''
''Considering Japan's actions and the effect of China's countermeasures,
Beijing should think of employing another strategy,'' Hu Feiyue said, without
elaborating.
==Kyodo
2010-11-03 22:09:25