Japanese patrols of Diaoyu Islands doing great harm to warming relations: expert

Japan’s stepping up of patrols and building of military facilities in the Diaoyu Islands’ contiguous zone are harming warming Sino-Japanese relations, an expert warned.

Whilst China and Japan’s dispute over Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force entering a contiguous zone northeast of Chiwei Islet of the Diaoyu Islands has yet to peter out, the Japan Times reported on Sunday that the Japan Coast Guard is considering adding up to four new base facilities near Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, which faces the Sea of Japan and the city of Kagoshima, from where vessels could quickly reach the East China Sea and Diaoyu Islands.

The report cited the coast guard source as saying that these new bases would make it possible for Japan to swiftly deal with an increasing number of intrusions by Chinese government vessels in Japan’s territorial waters around the Diaoyu Islands and illegal operations of North Korean fishing boats in the Sea of Japan.

Japan has been stepping up its patrols around the Diaoyu Islands and trying to normalize them in recent years, using various excuses, such as watching North Korean fishing boats’ illegal operations and claiming they detected a Chinese submarine or warship had entered Japanese territorial waters, Li Jie, a naval military expert, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Two vessels of Japan’s SelfDefense Force entered the northeast area of Chiwei Islet of China’s Diaoyu Islands, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily briefing on Thursday.

Li said that China will also normalize patrols over the Diaoyu Islands’ region in response to Japan’s frequent challenges to China’s sovereignty in this area.

Although the Japanese government has been showing friendliness toward China in the past months, Japan’s actions in the Diaoyu Islands and its plan to buy F-35 aircraft from the US signal that Japan is still taking precautions against China and reminds China to keep a clear understanding and firm stance toward Japan, Li explained.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Japan will “properly respond to” individual cooperation programs related to the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative.

In December, Abe said that he wanted to deepen high-level exchanges with China and elevate bilateral relations to a “new stage.”