China asserted its
territorial claims in the Western Pacific on two fronts Wednesday, warning
diplomats gathered in Cambodia's capital to respect its claims in the South
China Sea and engaging in a standoff with Japanese vessels in the East China
Sea.
Beijing sought to block efforts to resolve
long-running tensions over claims in the South China Sea, warning participants
in a regional summit attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in
Phnom Penh that it is "crucial" they leave the issue out of their
discussions.
Mrs. Clinton arrived in the Cambodian capital late
Wednesday after making a brief but historic trip to the Laotian capital of
Vientiane. She is the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Laos since John
Foster Dulles in 1955. She met with the communist nation's prime minister,
Thongsing Thammavong, and discussed ways of unlocking more investment there as
part of Washington's effort to build allies in Southeast Asia to match China's
growing influence in the region.
But Mrs. Clinton's Asia tour, which has included stops
in Japan, Mongolia and Vietnam, has been clouded by tensions over the waters
off China's coast.
In the East China Sea, Chinese patrol vessels on
Wednesday entered waters claimed by Japan near islands controlled by Japan and
claimed by China and Taiwan, setting off a confrontation with the Japanese
coast guard.
The face-off, following days of hostile rhetoric since
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said his government was considering
purchasing the privately owned islands, fueled concerns that the island fight
will strain burgeoning economic ties between the two Asian powers.
Wednesday's East China Sea drama started around 4 a.m.
Tokyo time. A Chinese patrol vessel came within 22 kilometers (14 miles) of the
islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, entering what Japan
considers its territorial waters. Two other Chinese vessels also appeared, with
one entering the territorial waters, according to the Japanese Coast Guard.
The three left within about four hours, after repeated
warnings from Coast Guard officials.
"Our vessel is conducting official duties within
China's territorial waters," one vessel said in response to Japanese
warnings, according to the Coast Guard. "Do not obstruct. Leave the
Chinese waters immediately."
Afterwards, spokesmen for both governments faced off.
"It is very clear that the Senkaku Islands are Japan's inherent territory
both from historical and legal perspectives," said Japan's chief cabinet
secretary, Osamu Fujimura. "And in reality, Japan effectively controls
them."China spokesman Liu Weimin said in Beijing, "The Diaoyu island
and its affiliated islets have been China's inherent territory since ancient
times. ... China does not accept Japanese representations over it."
Meanwhile, China is increasingly asserting its
territorial claims in the South China Sea, setting off disputes with other
neighbors, notably the Philippines and Vietnam.
The resource-rich South China Sea —which carries
around half of the world's total trade—is claimed in whole or part by China,
the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, and frictions have
intensified lately. In one of the latest dust-ups, Chinese and Philippine ships
were locked in a two-month standoff at a disputed area known as the Scarborough
Shoal after Philippine authorities tried to arrest Chinese fishermen accused by
Manila of illegally harvesting coral in the waters. The ships finally began to
withdraw last month after heavy storms made it difficult for them to remain.
The Philippines and other Southeast Asian claimants
are hoping to make headway on defusing the sea disputes Thursday, when foreign
ministers from Southeast Asia, China and other countries meet at a series of
annual summit gatherings sponsored by the 10-member Association of Southeast
Asian Nations in Phnom Penh.
Mrs. Clinton on Tuesday told reporters in Hanoi she
hoped Asian leaders would work on a code of conduct for activities in the sea
to ensure disagreements are resolved amicably.
In a commentary published Wednesday by the state-run
Xinhua news agency, China said ministers gathering in Phnom Penh should
"be wary" of letting the South China Sea "distract" them,
because Asean meetings are "not a proper platform" for discussing the
issue.
Rather, they should focus on building mutual trust and
cooperation, it said.
"Thus, it is preferable and crucial that the
Phnom Penh meetings keep to their agenda and leave South China Sea issues to
China and the specific Asean countries concerned," it said.
The statements came a day after similar warnings from
a Chinese foreign-ministry spokesman, who at a briefing described the
discussions on the South China Sea as "deliberate hype" designed
"to interfere with the relationship between China and Asean."
"Certainly, disagreements exist, but we have
constantly shown that a common understanding can be reached through peaceful
negotiations," said Surin Pitsuwan, Asean's secretary-general. "I am
confident that our collective wisdom and shared experiences will help us steer
through these difficulties."
Central to the latest debate is an on-again, off-again
effort to complete the so-called code of conduct, which Asean leaders envision
as a legally binding document that would guide behavior in the sea and
establish protocols for resolving future disputes peacefully.
Asian leaders agreed to draft a code a decade ago. But
it was never completed, in part because of China's position that disagreements
should be settled on a bilateral rather than multilateral basis. Critics of
China's policy say the country fears it would be harder to negotiate South
China Sea rules with a united Asean—a region of some 600 million people—and
wants to isolate the individual nations that have the strongest claims.
Efforts to salvage the code were revived at a series
of Asean meetings in Bali last year. Since then, Asean leaders have been
working to develop a more comprehensive code and a timeline for finishing it,
perhaps as early as later this year, according to people familiar with the
matter. But hopes for any progress in Phnom Penh are running low.
"I think this is going to be really bloody, this
one," said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian
Studies in Singapore, referring to thePhnom Penhsummits.
Complicating the situation in the East China Sea,
tensions within Japan over the ownership of the private islands may take months
to sort out. Japanese officials say Prime Minister Noda was forced into
announcing his plan to purchase the islands—even knowing it would raise
Beijing's ire—by Shintaro Ishihara, Tokyo's combative governor.
Known for his incendiary attitude toward China, Mr.
Ishihara had made a surprise proposal in May that his city buy the uninhabited
islands, though they lie thousands of miles from the capital. Mr. Ishihara's
highly publicized campaign has raised over ¥1.3 billion ($17 million) in
donations.
After Mr. Noda's announcement, Mr. Ishihara said Tokyo
would first purchase the islands and then sell them to the government, citing
the private owners' desire. Thie islands are owned by a Japanese family but the
government maintains a lease on them that is renewed annually.
In China's account of the encounter, as reported by
the state-run Xinhua news agency, three boats on "routine patrol"
approached the islands. Xinhua characterized them as "law-enforcement
vessels," citing a seasonal fishing ban China has declared in the East
China Sea, and said such patrols have been conducted since 2010. Boats of the
same type sailed into the areas Japan considers its territorial waters this
past March and in August of last year.
During a major confrontation over the islands in the
fall of 2010, China sent in a bigger patrol vessel, able to carry helicopters.
With no resolution of the ownership transfer in sight,
some in Japan fear a repeat of that bitter 2010 confrontation, which put a
damper on bilateral trade, investment and tourism for many months. Others fear
even worse: a landing on one of the islands by Chinese representatives,
triggering a violent conflict.
Koji Murata, professor of political science at
Doshisha University in Kyoto, said that Mr. Noda, energized by his recent success
on a contentious tax increase, now hopes to boost his national-security image
by inserting himself into the island issue—but that it's a perilous decision.
"It's easy to nationalize the islands, but how
would he provide naval defense?" Mr. Murata said. "It's
nationalization with no follow-up plans. I think this is a very precarious
situation."
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