BEIJING — After weeks of escalating diplomatic tensions betweenJapan and China over the detention of a Chinese fishing captain, China appeared to ease up on the invective slightly on Tuesday by calling on Tokyo to work together to resolve what has become a messy dispute over territorial sovereignty, compensation for damaged boats and such intangibles as wounded national pride.
“China highly values China-Japan relations,” Jiang Yu, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said during a regular news conference. “But safeguarding bilateral relations requires that the two sides meet halfway and requires Japan to take candid and practical actions.”
The comments were gentle in comparison to previous admonishments and threats by the Chinese, including a warning of “full consequences” by the normally taciturn Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, should Japan fail to acquiesce to its demands.
The latest comments came a few hours after the Japanese foreign minister insisted that there was nothing to discuss when it came to sovereignty over the string of islands in the East China Sea that both countries claim as their own. “No territorial issue exists,” Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara told Parliament, the Kyodo News Agency reported.
In addition to the verbal back and forth, the diplomatic tension between the nations has appeared to have some tangible effects. Chinese tour groups have canceled trips to Japan, and exporters of minerals crucial to Japanese automakers and other manufacturers have been halted, although the Chinese commerce minister has denied the existence of an export ban.
The imbroglio has been raging since Sept. 8, when the Japanese arrested the Chinese trawler captain during a confrontation that may or may not have involved the captain intentionally ramming his ship into the Japanese patrol vessels. Known as the Diaoyu to Chinese and Senkaku to Japanese, the uninhabited islets, located northeast of Taiwan, are claimed by both countries and by Taiwan but administered by Japan.
After angry protests by the Chinese government — and a modest rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing — prosecutors released the captain last Friday, a move that was widely interpreted as a diplomatic victory for China and an affirmation of its growing economic might.
But the release, apparently, was not enough to soothe China’s fury. Hours later, Beijing demanded an apology and compensation for the fishermen’s damaged ship. The Chinese media celebrated the return of the captain, Zhan Qixiong, 41, who promptly vowed to return to the disputed waters.
It has not helped the diplomacy that China has yet to release four Japanese citizens who were arrested last Friday while allegedly videotaping at a military installation not far from Beijing.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, feeling the heat for his apparent bow to China, has since rejected Chinese demands for an apology. For good measure, the Japanese chief cabinet secretary is demanding the Chinese pay for repairs of the damaged coast guard vessels (the newyork times)
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