Free Sino-Japanese ties from old emotional strains

• Source: Global Times
• [20:59 July 07 2010]
• Comments

Editor's Note:

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has been in office for almost a month. Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Katsuya Okada (Okada), who also served under the previous administration, is one of the most experienced cabinet members and has played a critical role in Japanese diplomacy. What does he think of Japan's relationship with China? Have recent problems in the East China Sea disturbed a delicate diplomatic balance? Tokyo-based Global Times (GT) reporter Sun Xiuping talked to Okada on how to develop the Sino-Japanese relationship.

Katsuya Okada

GT: Do you think the recent change of the Prime Minister of Japan will have any effect on Sino-Japanese relations? Will the political promises made by former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama during his trip to China be carried out by the new administration?

Okada: The Kan administration will continue taking great concern over Sino-Japanese relations. Prime Minister Kan launched the hotline between him and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on June 13. Kan emphasized that he would further strive for mutual benefits between China and Japan, and he believed that both parties would endeavor to realize the agreements made during Hatoyama's visit.

Personally I believe the G20 summit provided leaders a chance to communicate and exchange their ideas, and this helped in building mutual trust.

By further communication on issues such as climate change, and through economic cooperation at the international level, we can build a more solid trust and friendship between China and Japan.

GT: Japan has shown some concern over China's growing economic and military power. Do you think it is time to form a new strategy toward China?

Okada: The Sino-Japanese relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships for Japan. In recent years, we have started to work closely together not only over the economy, but over other areas as well. Working together with China and other important powers provided Japan with a chance to develop. In the meantime, the necessity for China to take on a more transparent and responsible position grows with its national power.

Now that both China and Japan know that we need each other, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, I will prioritize the building of a mutually beneficial relation between China and Japan. We should enhance cooperation on global issues as well as bilateral ones.

GT: Japan seemed to be very concerned with China's recent military maneuvers in the East China Sea. How do you interpret this?

Okada: I don't think the military maneuvers that took place in the East China Sea and the West Pacific in April violated the international law, but what worried the Japanese was that the helicopters on the Chinese naval vessels were too close to the Japanese vessels and threatened their cruises. If any accidents had happened, it would have had a damaging effect on bilateral relations.

From the perspective of the international law, there shouldn't be any problem if a country conducts military maneuvers while taking other countries' concerns into account. Yet in reality, it is hard for any country to turn a blind eye to the warships around its own territorial waters. My opinion is that we should increase transparency and establish an emergency mechanism to build up mutual trust and reduce conflicts.

There are several things we can do, such as increasing transparency in national defense and the military by maintaining dialogue and communication between China and Japan. We can also set up hotlines between the national defense departments and establish communication techniques when warships approach each other. Such procedures can be very crucial to maintain peace in the East China Sea.