hankyoreh

The discord between China and Japan over the Diaoyu islands (called Senkaku by Japan) is becoming ever more serious. If the situation continues to escalate, a physical clash could be next.
The situation erupted as the Japanese government decided to purchase the islands that had been privately owned. This move has aggravated the Chinese more than the time two years ago when the Japanese coast guard seized a Chinese boat that had crossed into its waters. The captain and crew were detained. China then halted its export of the mineral bastnaesite to Japan, which intensified the situation further. But in the end, the captain was released and stability was restored. 


On Sept. 10, the Japanese government purchased the Senkaku islands from their private owner. It all started when the ultra rightwing mayor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, proposed to buy the islands. To deal with this situation, Prime Minster Noda Yoshihito’s government decided to buy the islands to prevent major friction with China.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry immediately responded by saying that “This is the denial of the result of the global war against fascism and a challenge to world order.” Furthermore, it declared the Diaoyu the baseline of its territorial sea, thus expressing its strong determination to oppose Japan’s purchase of the islands.
On Sept. 14, China several Chinese Marine Surveillance vessels conducted surveillance of the waters surrounding the islands, some of them crossing into within 12 nautical miles of shore, the internationally recognized territorial boundary. To compare that to Japan and South Korea’s dispute over Dokdo, it was like Japanese vessels crossing our 12-mile zone.
This is a situation that could lead to physical clashes. China is hinting at further measures including economic measures, such as boycotts of Japanese products. The Chinese military have also used expressions like “ready for war” in order to protect the rights to their territory.
More serious are the anti-Japanese sentiments growing among ordinary Chinese people. There is fear for the safety of Japanese nationals traveling in China. 


Both China and Japan are big powers that play important roles in preserving and advancing peace, stability and prosperity not only in Northeast Asia but the entire world. China calls itself the second largest economic and political power and it is also a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Japan is the world’s third largest economy and the only Asian country among the G8 nations. The two countries, thus, must behave according to their statuses and positions in the world and exert all their efforts so that the situation does not escalate further. Especially the heads of the two states must not allow nationalistic sentiments to take over so that the situation grows into one that gets out of hand.
From South Korea’s perspective, having a conflict like this in our neighborhood is nothing to be comfortable about because the negative effects are bound to spread. Accordingly, we must also take the initiative in creating a mood of reconciliation in the middle. In this regard, what was the sense of President Lee Myung-bak visiting Dokdo and the remarks that came afterward, irritating the situation as he did? It was far from wise.
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]