China and Japan toned down the rhetoric yesterday, but both said it was up to the other to take steps to repair relations damaged by the detention of a fishing captain and a verbal fight over disputed islands.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tokyo had to make the first move to put diplomatic ties back on track after nearly three weeks of bitterness since Japan detained the fishing captain after his boat and two Japanese patrol boats collided near islands in the East China Sea.
“If Japan values its relationship with China, it should take concrete action to repair ties,” ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu (姜瑜) told a regular news conference. When asked what specific actions Japan had to take, Jiang would not say.
“Safeguarding bilateral relations requires the two sides to meet halfway and requires Japan to take candid and practical actions,” she said.
She urged Tokyo to “stop its stalking or disruption of Chinese fisheries law enforcement management boats” patrolling the disputed waters, but offered no other specifics on what steps should be taken.
Tokyo said Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan had no plans to meet with his Chinese counterpart at an ASEAN-EU summit in Brussels next Monday and Tuesday.
Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Tokyo was “not taking any action” to arrange talks for the two leaders.
“My impression is that it would be difficult for such talks to be arranged,” he said.
Maehara welcomed Kan’s decision to attend the meeting, reversing an earlier plan to miss it, because it is important for Japan to give the rest of the world a fairer picture of developments since the collision.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku also told reporters that conditions had not been met for a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶), reiterating it was up to China to repair relations.
Wen and Kan did not meet in New York last week when both attended a UN gathering.
Kan’s government has come under fire at home for its decision last Friday to release the fishing boat captain amid intense Chinese pressure.
His release failed to ease tensions after China demanded an apology for his detention and compensation over the weekend.
Tokyo countered by demanding that Beijing pay for damage to the patrol boats from the collisions near the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), which the Japanese call Senkaku. Japan controls the islands but China and Taiwan also claim them.
Meanwhile, a top Japanese financial official said China’s ban on shipments to Japan of rare-earth metals crucial for advanced manufacturing threatens to undermine the Japanese economy.
Japanese trading company officials say China halted exports to Japan last Thursday of rare earths — exotic metals that are used in magnets, computer disk drives, components for hybrid cars and other high-tech products. Chinese officials denied there was a ban.
“The de-facto ban on rare-earths export that China has imposed could have a very big impact on Japan’s economy,’’ Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Banri Kaieda said. “We need to restore Japan-China ties, especially economic exchanges, as soon as possible.”
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source