Japanese
landing turns up the heat in island dispute
CHINESE
protesters took to the streets in several cities yesterday to protest
against the landing of Japanese activists on a group of disputed
islands in the East China Sea, the official Xinhua news agency
reported.
20 August, 2012
More
than 100 people gathered near Japan's consulate in Guangzhou, the
capital of southern Guangdong province, holding China's national flag
and banners, Xinhua said.
It
also reported protests in Shenzhen, Shenyang, Hangzhou, Harbin and
Qingdao after Japanese nationalists landed on an island at the heart
of the corrosive territorial row. In Hong Kong, hundreds of
pro-Beijing trade union members rallied to denounce Japan's claim to
the islands, chanting ''down with Japanese militarism''.
About
a dozen members of the right-wing Ganbare Nippon (''Hang In There,
Japan'') group raised flags on one of the islands Japan calls
Senkaku, but which are claimed by China under the name Diaoyu.
Last
week, Tokyo deported pro-Beijing activists who had landed on the
islands, administered by Japan but claimed by China, which had warned
against acts ''harming'' its territorial sovereignty.
About
150 people, including eight MPs, arrived at the archipelago in the
East China Sea about dawn yesterday in a flotilla that had sailed
from far south-western Ishigaki.
A
Japanese coastguard ship 100 metres from the moored vessels sounded
its siren, with loudspeakers telling activists: ''Do not moor. Leave
the island.''
A
Tokyo politician, Eiji Kosaka, told a journalist on board one of the
boats participants had to land on the islands, despite the opposition
of the central government.
''We
want to give a strong signal to China,'' he said.
Another
participant said activists and politicians wanted to walk onto one of
the islands singing Japan's national anthem and would have a meal
there.
Before
the voyage, Kenichi Kojima, a politician from Kanagawa, near Tokyo,
said the trip was about who owned the archipelago, the waters of
which are believed to harbour rich mineral resources.
''I
want to show the international community that these islands are ours.
It is Japan's future at stake,'' he said.
An
MP, Keiko Yamatani, said most countries recognised Japan's
sovereignty over the island chain, but added: ''I think this kind of
expedition will help raise awareness around the world.''
Organisers
said before their departure they would hold a ceremony aboard boats
moored ''within touching distance'' of the shore, to remember some of
those who died in World War II.
Beijing
rebuked Japan over the island visit.
''China
has made solemn representations to Japan, demanding that it
immediately cease actions harming China's territorial sovereignty,''
the foreign ministry said in a statement.
In
Japan, the government was criticised as weak by nationalist
politicians for deporting the 14 Chinese activists just two days
after seven of them landed on the islands.
However,
after Japan's relations with South Korea became strained recently in
a territorial dispute over another group of islands, the government
decided it needed to avoid a two-pronged fight with its Asian
neighbours.
The
14 activists, including members of a private anti-Japan group based
in Hong Kong, were deported on Friday.
Tokyo's
Governor, Shintaro Ishihara, denounced the government's decision. ''I
have witnessed, once again, the weak-kneed diplomacy of the central
government against China - or rather, the government's pitiful
attitude of pandering to China's interests,'' he said at a media
conference.
Japan's
chief cabinet secretary, Osamu Fujimura, justified the government's
stance.
''Instead
of making emotional judgments, we have responded to this matter
strictly and fairly based on our domestic laws,'' Mr Fujimura said.
The
dispute over the islands is one of the main stumbling blocks - along
with issues related to Japan's military occupation of parts of China
during World War II - to smooth relations between Asia's two giant
economies.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.