Source: wechat official account: Bu Yidao has been authorized to reprint
Write / pigeon talk & Sister Daodao
On China related maritime issues, the Japanese media “ignited” and the Taiwan media “fanned the flames” once again.
First, Japan’s Sankei Shimbun launched the so-called “exclusive news”, claiming that “Japan opposes China’s setting the South China Sea as an internal water”. Although there are few media in Japan to follow up, and there are few social repercussions, Taiwan’s media are like treasures. The original photo is translated, and the splash is also limited.
On the 23rd, the Taiwan media made another move: asking the spokesman at the regular press conference of the Vietnamese foreign ministry.
The spokesman’s reply was very official, but this did not prevent the Taiwan media from reporting again in the way of “rumors that China intends to set the South China Sea as an internal water, and Vietnam calls for compliance with international law”.
It is not once or twice that the Japanese and Taiwan media have been so obstinately distorting and exaggerating China’s intentions and provoking sensitive maritime issues related to China.
What is even more remarkable is that Japan, which has recently jumped high on the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait issues, has provoked the South China Sea issue. What is its intention?
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Japan’s Sankei Shimbun published an “exclusive news” (as shown in the figure below) on the 18th, saying that China intends to set the area in the South China Sea where foreign ships enjoy the right of innocent passage as “internal water”, so that they will lose the right of innocent passage. Japan has raised an objection to the Commission on the limits of the continental shelf (CLCS) on the ground of violating the United Nations Convention on the law of the sea.
It is reported that this is the first time that Japan advocates the “illegality” of China’s activities in the South China Sea. As a part of the strategy of “free and open Indo Pacific”, Japan is “in step” with Southeast Asia and European and American countries to compete with China for sovereignty over the South China Sea.
More and more people don’t understand it. Is it “illegal”? An article in Sankei Shimbun will decide? Moreover, Japan is clearly not a party to the South China Sea dispute. When did it have “sovereignty over the South China Sea”?
In order to prove its “conclusion”, the report also pointed out the banner of the United Nations Convention on the law of the sea that only archipelagic countries are allowed to draw baselines. In this regard, in fact, China sent a letter to the Commission on the limits of the continental shelf last August to explain that the baselines were drawn in accordance with the provisions of general international law.
It is reported that in the joint statement issued after the Japan US summit held in April last year, when talking about the South China Sea issue, it was written “opposing China’s illegal maritime rights and interests”. In May this year, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the same statement in the joint statement after the talks with US President Biden.
Is this the logic that lies come true after a thousand times?
However, it seems that Japanese society and public opinion are not interested in this “exclusive news”, and there are no follow-up reports from other media except those reprinted by Yahoo News. Since Sankei Shimbun released this “exclusive” on its official twitter account on the 18th, so far, only 18 netizens have commented.
With regard to this “exclusive news” accusing China, bainiaohao, a professor at the University of Japan’s Jushi University, commented that the United States’ “free and open Indo Pacific” strategy has caused unnecessary tension in East Asia?
White bird Ho said that Japan should not follow the trend of the world moving towards division. On the contrary, it is necessary for Japan to seek a reliable solution while understanding each other’s propositions.
Bai niaohao stressed that in this process, Japan certainly needs to safeguard its own interests, but such interests may not be consistent with those of the United States. Relying too much on the United States has damaged Japan’s national interests, that is, putting the cart before the horse. In the future, it is necessary to make a strict distinction between Japan’s national interests and those of the United States.
Compared with domestic public opinion in Japan, Taiwan media are obviously more interested in this “exclusive disclosure” of Sankei news.
Not only did the major media on the island scramble to forward this report, Taiwan’s “Central News Agency” also asked questions at the regular press conference of Vietnam’s Ministry of foreign affairs about this report, asking whether Vietnam intends to cooperate with Japan, Europe and the United States on the South China Sea issue and “fight China’s South China Sea proposition” together.
The spokesman of the Vietnamese foreign ministry said that all countries share a common vision and goal, that is, to maintain and promote peace, stability, cooperation and development in the South China Sea and to resolve disputes on the basis of international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the law of the sea.
This has also been widely reported by the media on the island in the form of “it is said that China intends to set the South China Sea as an internal water, and Vietnam calls for compliance with international law”. The implication of provoking China Vietnam relations cannot be more obvious.
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Experts in relevant fields said that this disclosure by Sankei Shimbun was typical without common sense. The South China Sea covers an area of about 3.5 million square kilometers, a little larger than that of India. It is inconceivable to accuse China of classifying such a large area of water as “internal water”.
However, this is also consistent with the consistent tone of the Japanese media in hyping China related maritime issues.
It can be said that the Japanese media are the pioneer in the international hype of China related marine issues. They often release exclusive “explosive news” that is difficult to verify, and deliberately distort and magnify it is even more familiar.
For example, when the draft of China’s maritime police law was just released in 2020, Sankei Shimbun and the Japan Times claimed that “China allows the maritime police to use force for the purpose of Diaoyu Islands”, discrediting China’s normal maritime activities. Kyodo News Agency and other media also quoted sources as saying that “the Chinese military confirmed the exercise to seize Dongsha Island for the first time”, which was subsequently denied by the “source”.
Japanese media can always be seen on some controversial topics between China and relevant countries in the South China Sea.
As early as 2019, when China’s self built new aircraft carrier was officially listed in the naval base on Hainan Island, the Japanese economic news took the opportunity to reveal that the Philippine navy commander said in an interview that the Philippines was preparing to establish a naval base in the South China Sea, stressing that the new base would lead to renewed tension between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, which was considered as provoking Sino Philippine relations.
Last year, in the Sino Philippine “Oxbow reef incident”, the Japanese media and Japanese officials also spoke very loudly. Experts said that Japan has aircraft or satellites flying over the so-called incident area every day and has strong situational awareness. They know whether something has happened. However, the Japanese media still reported and exaggerated at length. The then Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Shinawatra also expressed his “strong opposition” to China’s “increasing tension in the South China Sea”, becoming the only third-party country outside the United States.
In addition to the media hype, Japan’s recent actions around the South China Sea have obviously accelerated.
Japanese defense minister Nobuo kishio has just visited Cambodia and held a meeting of defense ministers with ASEAN. It is reported that during the talks, kishifu specially stressed the importance of forming a “free and open maritime order” in the Indian Pacific region, saying that considering China’s frequent activities in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, “it is possible to unilaterally change the status quo by relying on its strength”.
This argument is no stranger.
At the recent Shangri La dialogue, not only did Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida mention the South China Sea in his speech, but the joint statement after the meeting of the defense ministers of the United States, Japan and Australia also claimed that they were deeply concerned about the situation in the South China Sea and strongly opposed “China’s improper claims on its maritime interests and activities.”
In addition to exaggerating the so-called “China threat” in the South China Sea at the ASEAN level, Japan is also looking for a grasp and “partner” to intervene in the South China Sea affairs.
During the meeting between kishimov and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and defense minister Diban, he expressed concern about the transformation of the “yuntu” naval base in the tone of the United States. On the other hand, he expressed his intention to win over Cambodia through the issues of the East China Sea and the South China Sea. In the previous bilateral meetings between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Cambodia Japan relations were also upgraded to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
In addition, Japan is still trying to win over the Philippines. In April this year, Japan and the Philippines held their first “2+2” meeting of foreign ministers and defense ministers in Tokyo. Some experts believe that this means that Japan regards the Philippines as its strategic security point in the Western Pacific region and the key point of its involvement in the South China Sea issue.
Let alone Vietnam and Indonesia, which Japan has always attached great importance to and have a certain foundation for defense cooperation.
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In fact, Japan has been deeply involved in the South China Sea issue for a long time.
The most obvious example is that only four months after the Philippines unilaterally initiated arbitration on the South China Sea issue between China and the Philippines in january2013, Japan hastily gave clear support.
After a series of close interactions between Japan and the Philippines, the website of the Philippine Embassy in Japan issued a statement in may2013, saying that Prime Minister Abe said that the Japanese government supported the South China Sea arbitration case proposed by the Philippines and promised to continue to support the Philippines to improve its maritime security capability.
By the way, the then foreign minister of Japan was now prime minister Fumio Kishida.
On the South China Sea issue, Japan’s reasons for concern sound high sounding: maintaining the safety of the South China Sea route, maintaining the maritime “rule of law”, and maintaining the “status quo” of the South China Sea… Tokyo’s real motivation is not the same at all.
The most important reason, of course, is China, China, China.
Japan’s greatest concern in the marine field lies in the East China Sea. It may be a direct consideration for Tokyo to create interference by hyping the South China Sea issue to contain China and seek the initiative on the East China Sea issue.
However, different from the issues of the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, Japan’s blending in the South China Sea is indirect and gradual.
Under the banner of safeguarding the so-called “freedom of navigation”, it has helped ASEAN countries to strengthen their relations with them, especially those countries with disputes over the South China Sea, which has had a negative impact on China’s interests in Southeast Asia and the development of relations with ASEAN countries.
Japan also has military security plans.
The 2021 edition of the defense white paper openly claimed that China’s military development “lacks transparency”, that it “changes the status quo with strength” in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and that the activities of Chinese coast guard vessels around the Diaoyu Islands “violate international law”, and so on.
Such clamour has long existed.
Therefore, Japan formulated a new security law, strengthened the Japan US military alliance, and actively provided patrol and surveillance equipment and capacity-building training to relevant countries along the South China Sea, so as to expand its military influence in Southeast Asia, especially in the countries around the South China Sea.
As early as june2013, the then defense minister Onodera wudian publicly stated that Japan would assist Southeast Asian countries to strengthen their defense capabilities.
For example, Japan suggested that Vietnam should separate the “coast guard” from the people’s army in order to accept the ships provided by the Japanese government for development assistance. Not only did Tokyo directly provide ships, but Tokyo also generously agreed to provide funds to help Vietnam build new ships, assist in the training of guard personnel, and so on.
Although “China” is not mentioned in one word, it seems that “China” has become a key word in the close relationship between Japan and Vietnam.
It seems that Tokyo is trying to regain the historical dream of “gunboat diplomacy” of the Japanese Empire.
In the first half of the 20th century, Japan had a disgraceful history in South and Southeast Asia. In 1939, Japan occupied the South China Sea Islands and established a naval base in the the Nansha Islands during the Pacific War, and then used this as a springboard to launch attacks on Singapore, Indonesia and other places at that time.
one need not look far for a lesson. With the overall stability of the situation in the South China Sea, Japan’s malicious speculation on China related maritime issues has pushed up regional tensions, and will only lift a rock and hit itself in the end.