Japan snubbed Beijing's overture to reduce maritime activities in East China Sea: Report

Days after a telephonic conversation between Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and China’s President Xi Jinping, a Japanese academician claimed that Tokyo had rejected an olive branch offered by Beijing to pacify tensions in the disputed waters of East China Sea. Liu Qingbin, an associate professor at Yokohama National University in Japan, told South China Morning Post that Beijing had almost completely stopped its maritime activities in the disputed waters ahead of Xi’s scheduled visit in April.

Former Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe had visited Beijing in October 2018 and the Chinese President was supposed to visit Japan in April 2020 but the coronavirus pandemic forced them to postpone the trip. Ahead of the much-awaited visit, China reduced its activities in the Diaoyu Islands, which is called as Senkaku Islands by the Japanese side, expecting reciprocal action. According to Liu, the overtures were met with hostility as the right-wing forces of Japan hired fishing boats and entered the disputed waters, resulting in further skirmishes.

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No information on visit

On September 25, Suga told a press conference that he stressed the importance of a stable Sino-Japan relationship during the call with the Chinese President. He said that both leaders agreed to closely communicate with each other on bilateral, regional or global issues, adding that there was no talk on the Xi’s visit to Japan. The stalled visit remains a matter of concern as planning for other high-level visits to Japan is already underway despite the pandemic.

“For your information, there was no exchange on the visit of President Xi to Japan," said Suga.

Japan, India, Australia and the United States are reportedly planning to hold a meeting of their foreign ministers in Tokyo in early October. It will be the first cabinet-level meeting in Japan since March after the coronavirus outbreak. Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said on September 19 that Suga is preparing to meet top US diplomat Mike Pompeo on the sidelines of QUAD security dialogue, indicating Japan’s desire to further strengthen ties with the US amid calls for free Indo-Pacific.

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(With ANI inputs | Image: AP)