Hanoi Summit: Beijing's harsh accusations against Japan
Hanoi (AsiaNews / Agencies) – In a strong accusation Beijing says Japan has made "untrue statements" after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had invited them to address territorial disputes "through dialogue". Beijing sees this as interference in the dispute over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu to Chinese) in the East China Sea. Hu Zhengyu, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister, warned that "Japan will be responsible for all consequences."
The summit of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, including Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, Myanmar, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia) being held in Hanoi expanded to include China, Japan, USA and other countries, provided a platform for a rapprochement between China and Japan, following the serious conflict that erupted in September over these islands, uninhabited but rich in fish stocks and energy sources. In fact, the two countries had announced that their premiers Wen Jiabao and Naoto Kan would have the first formal meeting since the crisis began. Today the two met briefly. In the meantime, Clinton has commented that "the United States has a national interest in freedom of navigation and commerce without legal obstacles" and that the U.S. "are involved in the resolution [of maritime territorial disputes] through peaceful means based on international law customary law".
Previously, China had repeatedly stated that the maritime territorial disputes regard the States involved and it would not tolerate the judgements of a third party over its territorial integrity. Instead the U.S. have repeatedly shown they want to support the Vietnamese call for international arbitration in its dispute, always with China, over the sovereignty of other islands (the Spratly and Paracel islands).
Clinton did not mention this directly, but on October 28 met with Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara reaffirming loyalty to the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.
Ma Zhaoxu, portavoce del ministro cinese degli Esteri, ha subito risposto che “il governo e il popolo cinese non accetteranno mai qualsiasi parola o documenti che comprenda le isole Diaoyu dentro i fini del Trattato Usa-Giappone”. “Le isole Diaoyu sono parte integrante del territorio cinese sin da epoca antica. La Cina ha un’indubitabile sovranità sulle isole”. Ci sono state accuse a Tokyo di volere “avvelenare” l’atmosfera del summit.
Il Giappone ha espresso sconcerto e sorpresa e il portavoce nipponico Noriyuki Shikata ha subito commentato che le parole cinesi sono “prive di fondamento” e ha invitato alla calma e a riprendere il dialogo.
But Zhaoxu, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry immediately responded that "the government and the Chinese people will never accept any words or documents that includes the Diaoyu Islands in the US-Japan Treaty ". "The Diaoyu Islands are an integral part of Chinese territory since ancient times. China has, undoubtedly, sovereignty over the islands”. There have also been allegations that Tokyo is attempting to "poison" the atmosphere of the summit.
Japan has expressed its shock and surprise. Japanese spokesman Noriyuki Shikata commented that the Chinese words are "groundless" and called for calm and a resumption of dialogue.
Previously, the Clinton administration had also noted that "While the United States agrees that no country can impose its values on others, we do believe that certain values are universal -- and that they are intrinsic to stable, peaceful, and prosperous countries. Human rights are in everyone's interest". An intervention considered directed at China to respect human rights and the position of the Nobel Peace Laureate, Chinese Lu Xiaobo, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for crimes of opinion.
.png)
