|
¡@
Japan PM urges China to be ¡¥responsible¡¦
AFP, TOKYO
Japan¡¦s prime minister yesterday urged China to act as a ¡§responsible member of
the international community¡¨ and voiced concern about Beijing¡¦s defense spending
and maritime activities.
The comments by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan came as the Asian giants are
embroiled in their gravest row in years, sparked by a maritime incident near a
disputed island chain in the East China Sea more than three weeks ago.
Amid the heightened tensions, China issued a travel warning for its citizens
after Japanese right-wing nationalists harassed a busload of Chinese tourists
this week, kicking their bus and hurling insults.
China yesterday allowed three Japanese construction workers to return home after
detaining them for 11 days for allegedly filming a military site, but it
retained one of their colleagues for further questioning.
Japan¡¦s center-left prime minister fired off another salvo in a parliamentary
speech when he voiced concerns about China¡¦s military muscle and its recent
display of hardball diplomacy in the spat.
¡§We are concerned that China ... has strengthened its defense power without
transparency and that it has intensified its maritime activities in regions from
the Indian Ocean to the East China Sea,¡¨ Kan said.
¡§I expect China to play an appropriate role and act as a responsible member of
the international community,¡¨ he said, softening the comments only by saying
that Japan sought good relations with China.
Japan and the US have in the past called for greater transparency in China¡¦s
military spending, which has seen double-digit growth for much of the past two
decades.
Asia¡¦s two largest economies have been embroiled in a diplomatic standoff since
Japan¡¦s arrest on Sept. 8 of a Chinese trawler captain near the disputed
Diaoyutai Islands (³¨³½¥x).
Japan has since released the captain, but the move did little to ease tensions
and left Kan open to domestic attacks from political conservatives claiming he
had caved in to Chinese bullying.
About half a dozen protesters rallied outside the Chinese embassy in Tokyo
yesterday, under strict police watch.
One of the protesters, Satoshi Sato, said the recent row had ¡§exposed China¡¦s
true nature as a yakuza state.¡¨
The protest followed an ugly incident on Wednesday in Fukuoka where dozens of
right-wingers¡¦ vehicles surrounded a Chinese tour bus, kicked the vehicle and
shouted ¡§Chinese, go home.¡¨
China¡¦s National Tourism Administration yesterday advised ¡§Chinese tourists and
tour groups currently in Japan or planning to go to Japan in the near future to
watch their travel safety.¡¨
¡@
|
