China's state press yesterday accused Japan of seeking to make an enemy out of China, and said Tokyo was attempting to provoke its neighbor over disputed territory in the East China Sea and Taiwan.
In an unsigned editorial, the China Daily blasted a reported Japanese defense plan that sets out contingencies for a military conflict between China and Taiwan that could involve the US and Japan.
The defense plan, reported by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, said there was a small risk that China could attack over disputed islands in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku Islands in Japanese and Diaoyutai in Chinese.
"In essence, the concept en-shrined in the plan is an attempt by Japan to domestically legalize their claim of sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands and territory in the East China Sea, and intervene in the settlement of the Taiwan question," the China Daily said.
`LOOKING FOR EXCUSES'
The editorial accused the Japanese government of trying to find excuses to build up its military.
"The Japanese government's attempts to dodge international criticism over its own military upgrades by deliberately exaggerating the so-called threats posed by neighboring countries cannot conceal its long-held military ambitions," it said.
The editorial warned Sino-Japanese relations could suffer as a result of Tokyo's perceptions of Beijing as a threat.
"Japan's attempt to intervene in the Taiwan Strait not only casts a shadow over Sino-Japanese relations but risks torpedoing peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific Region," it said.
"Assuming China is a foe rather than regional partner will only further undermine bilateral ties ... instead of undertaking fence-mending efforts, Tokyo is wrongly bent on pursuing measures in the opposite direction," the editorial said.
NEGOTIATIONS
Meanwhile, Japan urged China yesterday to stop developing gas fields in a disputed part of the East China Sea and called for joint Tokyo-Beijing exploitation of natural resources in the area at the opening of two-day talks on the conflict.
The two countries have been feuding over claims to undersea gas deposits in the area and the delineation of their exclusive economic zones there.
"We will ask China to provide necessary information. We will ask them to stop gas development on their own, and stop drilling if they are going ahead with drilling, without giving us any information," Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said.
He said that Japan is also ready to discuss jointly developing reserves with China.
"We agree on the principle to make [the East China Sea] not into the ocean of conflict, but into the ocean of cooperation, so we will discuss how we could jointly develop reserves," he said.
The negotiators will not release details of the discussions until they end today. It is the third round of talks in the past year.
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which both Japan and China have signed, coastal countries can claim an economic zone extending 370km from their shores. The disputed site lies within both countries' claims.
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