When Japan’s defense minister greeted the deputy chief of staff of China’s army at a regional security forum yesterday, he was undiplomatically snubbed.
Chinese Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong (王冠中) said he was incensed by comments from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, implicitly holding China responsible for territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas, and later by US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s accusations that Beijing was destabilizing the region.
“When Mr Abe spoke just now, there was veiled criticism targeted at China,” Wang told Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, according to the semi-official China News Service. “These accusations are wrong and go against the standards of international relations.”
The exchange between the world’s three biggest economies at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a security forum for government officials, military officers and defence experts, were among the most caustic in years at diplomatic gatherings, and could be a setback to efforts to set ties back on track.
Tellingly, despite about 100 bilateral and trilateral meetings taking place over the week, officials from China and Japan did not sit down together.
Wang had rejected an offer of talks with Japan and said: “This will hinge on whether the Japanese side is willing to amend the erroneous policy towards China and improve relations between China and Japan. Japan should correct its mistakes as soon as possible to improve China-Japan ties.”
China claims almost the entire oil and gas-rich South China Sea, and dismisses competing claims from Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. Japan has its own territorial row with China over islands in the East China Sea.
Tensions have been rising steadily in the East China Sea as well. Yesterday, Wang stepped up the rhetoric.
“Mr Abe, as the head of a country and as someone the organizers have invited to give a speech, is supposed to stick to the event’s aim in boosting security in the Asia Pacific region,” he said. “However Mr Abe went against the aim of the event by instigating disputes.”
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