China keeps an eye on Abe as Japan PM seeks to rally support from Asean

 Japanese PM Shinzo Abe BEIJING: The Chinese media kept a close eye on Tokyo as leaders from Asean countries gathered in Japan for the Japan-Asean Summit.

The three-day summit, which marks 40 years of ties between Japan and Asean, was seen as an opportunity for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to rally support against China.

In the latest episode of China-Japan feud, China has declared a new air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea, which overlapped the territory claimed by South Korea and Japan.

As expected, Abe brought up the restriction on freedom of flight during the summit in an indirect reference to China’s air defence zone.

A Japanese official reportedly quoted him as telling the Asean leaders that “moves to unilaterally change the status quo, moves to put restrictions on the international aviation order, which is built on freedom of flight, are strong concerns”.

Under the aircraft identification rules which came into effect on Nov 23, all foreign aircraft intending to enter the zone have to report their flight plans to the Chinese authority and adhere to relevant instructions once they enter the zone.

The Chinese officials reserve the rights to adopt defensive emergency measures when aircraft fail to abide by the identification rules or obey the instructions.

State news agency Xinhua said Japan’s inclusion of air zone safety as a key security issue in the summit was a move to “plant a poisonous thorn”.

In a commentary, it said Abe’s frequent visits to nations in the Asean regional bloc in the past one year aimed at roping in the countries to rein in China.

It criticised Japan of using the East China Sea and South China Sea territorial issues to cause chaos and discord within Asean and to undermine the relationship between Asean and its partners.

Global Times was in the opinion that Japan would not succeed in its bid to get Asean to confront China.

“No matter how Tokyo creates waves, it will not gain a strategic advantage over China in South-East Asia.

“No countries will confront China for the sake of a declining Japan. Even the US, Japan’s patron, has to maintain relations with China while keeping its support to Japan,” it wrote.

During the summit, Japan has promised ¥2 trillion (RM62.7bil) of loans and grants to the region over five years. The pledge was interpreted as an attempt to increase its influence.

Tang Chunfeng, an expert on Japanese issues in the Research Institute of the Chinese Commerce Ministry, told the Chinese version of Global Times that Asean countries viewed Japan as the “God of Prosperity” who is willing to give them money.

“They are reluctant to offend Japan, but at the same time, they will not let China bear a grudge against them. They are only using Japan.”

Tsinghua University’s Institute of Modern International Relations deputy director Liu Yongjiang added that Asean would not take sides in this issue.

“Most Asean countries want the region to develop in a stable and peaceful environment, but Japan is constantly causing trouble.

“It will worry the Asean countries and even lead to dissatisfaction,” he said.

Commenting on Abe’s remarks to gather support from the Asean countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said China is aware of the relevant reports.

“We believe that countries should not target a third party or undermine the interests of the third party when developing ties with each other.

“They should instead make efforts to maintain regional peace and stability,” he said in a press conference on Friday, the transcript of which was available on the ministry’s website.

Contributed by Tho Xin Yi The Star/Asia News Network


Don't make waves on China's ADIZ

If Tokyo truly seeks a peaceful and secure Asia-Pacific, then it is in its own interests to call off provocative moves over China's establishment of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

According to a recent news report, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is going to stage again its China-is-to-blame game at the summit of Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

It is also reported that Abe seeks to drag the ASEAN members into an agreement to counter Beijing in searching for "maritime and air security."

While, for the record, it is believed that anyone with only half a brain knows that it is Japan who intentionally set the region on fire in the first place.

Following its provocative purchase of China's Diaoyu Islands, Japan has wasted no time in trumpeting up the China-threat theory, and deliberately paints itself a victim of Beijing's development, which is in fact invigorating regional and global economic recovery.

Instead of chilling down the flaring regional tension of its own making and ending the decades-long economic stagnation, the cunning Abe administration has labored to drive wedges between China and its regional partners and neighbors.

Many might wonder why Japan chooses to bury its relations with China half dead over building up mutually beneficial partnership with Beijing, which would mean greater business and trade opportunities?

While, the truth is, Mr. Abe and his government have done their own calculations, but only with a flaw that could backfire.

For decades, an economically-strong Japan has attempted strenuously to return itself to the ranks of a "normal country," and become an influential power by shaking off military expansion yokes forged by the pacifist constitution in the wake of Japan's defeat in the Second World War.

To that end, a number of Japanese administrations have been expanding its military powers, buying votes for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and denying its history of aggression.

The smarty-pants right-wing Japanese politicians also believed that their ambitions for the comeback of their hegemonic role in the region would be categorically concealed as long as it can promote China's growth a threat to the US national interests, and safety and security of other regional countries.

In fact, Tokyo has made so big a mistake that its inflammatory moves have already efficiently worried or enraged many of its neighbors. It seems to have forgotten that a constructive relationship with countries around it is the first step toward the final destination of a normal country.

If keep missing that point, Japan, which can never move out of Asia, can now kiss good-bye to its "big dreams."

Against the backdrop of world peace and global integration, China welcomes closer ties between Japan and ASEAN, and Tokyo's active participation in the regional integration process. However, Japan should never jeopardize China's interests and relations with any other third party.

As for China's establishment of ADIZ, it is just, reasonable and complies with international practices, and Beijing's normal growth of national defense capacity does not pose a threat to any country.

Beijing always advocates resolving territorial and maritime disputes through dialogue, yet it will never allow any country to infringe upon its territorial sovereignty.

Therefore, if history is too embarrassed for politicians in Tokyo to face, they should at least face the facts on the ground and start to pursue its national agenda in a rational manner. - Xinhua

Abe targets China at Asean Summit  

 China is expected to top the agenda at this weekend's summit between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as Tokyo seeks a united front against China's newly established Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and aims to restore its influence in Southeast Asia.

The Japan-ASEAN summit in Tokyo, starting Friday, is held to commemorate Japan's 40-year ties with the group.

It comes after China's setting up of the ADIZ over the East China Sea and amid speculation that a similar zone would be imposed over the South China Sea, where several ASEAN countries are locked in territorial disputes with Beijing.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wasted no time in seeking support from ASEAN countries.

During a meeting with visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday, Abe reiterated his criticism of China's ADIZ. According to Japan's Kyodo News, Najib expressed his understanding of Japan's protest.

A draft statement for the leaders "stresses the importance of freedom of flight through airspace over the high seas, as recognized by international law," Kyodo reported last week. The document reportedly does not single out China.

"Abe intends to defame China and pile up international censure on Beijing," Gao Hong, a deputy director with the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Acedemy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times, but noted it is doomed to failure.

Citing the fact that even the US didn't stand up to demand a revoke of the zone as Japan had wished, Gao said it is unimaginable that ASEAN, who have benefited from China's good neighborly diplomacy, would act in accordance with Tokyo's will.

Zhang Yunling, director of the Institute for International Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that while ASEAN is counting on Japan to counterbalance a rising China, they wouldn't accept statements that explicitly criticize Beijing.

Responding to the Japan-ASEAN summit, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei on Thursday said that China hopes relevant countries will not target a third party and harm the interests of the third party.

The summit is the second of its kind between Japan and ASEAN. Zhang said, compared to the first summit held in 2003, this year's summit also eyes competing with China over influence in Southeast Asia.

While Japan used to hold a big sway in the region, China has surpassed it in recent years and is ASEAN's largest trade partner.

In a bid to restore Japan's influence, Abe has visited all 10 ASEAN members  since taking office a year ago, bringing a raft of business deals and aid to the region, while pushing for joint action to "maintain regional peace."

Abe plans to announce at the summit this weekend that Japan will extend 320 billion yen ($3.1 billion) worth of aid to boost disaster prevention and cultural exchange with ASEAN, Kyodo reported on Thursday.

On the sidelines of the summit, Cambodia and Japan are expected to sign four deals including defense cooperation and Japanese assistance for Cambodian road and hospital development.

Reuters reported that Japan is also going to pledge a post-typhoon loan to the Philippines of some 10 billion yen.

Hu Lingyuan, a professor with the Center for Japanese Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times that Southeast Asia is only second to the US in Japan's diplomatic priorities.

"In recent years, Japan has been using territorial disputes in the East China Sea and South China Sea to draw Vietnam and the Philippines to its side. It is also helping the US to lower China's influence in Myanmar," Hu said, noting the aim is to exert political pressure against China and reap economic benefits.

Although dwarfed by China in trade, Japan has more investment in and contributes more aid to ASEAN, Zhang said, noting "therefore ASEAN countries are willing to maintain close ties with Japan and use the rift between Tokyo and Beijing to maximize their own gains."

Sidebar: Abe's 10-country tour of 2013

January 16, Vietnam

The two countries reached economic and security agreements. Japan will provide $500 million in new loans.

January 17, Thailand

The two countries agreed to strengthen economic and security cooperation.

January 18, Indonesia

The two countries discussed economic and security issues, including the East China Sea.

May 24-26, Myanmar

Japan endorsed Myanmar's reform program by writing off nearly $2 billion in debt and extending new aid worth $400 million.

July 25, Malaysia,

The two agreed to cooperate in high technology such as high-speed rail, water and waste treatment. They will also collaborate in finance and security in the Malacca Strait.

July 26, Singapore

Abe said he intends to promote "strategic diplomacy" in the region, particularly with an eye to strengthening ties and its economic partnership with ASEAN.

July 27, Philippines

Japan agreed to provide 10 patrol boats for its coast guard to help counter recent maritime advances by China.

October 9, Brunei

At the 16th ASEAN-Japan summit in Brunei, Abe called for security cooperation with Asia-Pacific nations "with which we share fundamental values."

November 15, Cambodia

Japan offers support in investment, democratic reform and health, while promoting it will "proactively contribute to the regional peace and stability."

November 16, Laos

The two decided to seek the launch of a security dialogue framework. Japan agreed to provide infrastructure and medical aid.

By Yang Jingjie - Global Times

Typhoon-hit Philippines: China Sends Hospital Ship, Others jostling for powers and dominance as Philippines welcomes former invaders

 

(Reuters) Following Typhoon Haiyan's devastating effect on the Philippines, the Chinese government is sending its hospital ship, the "Peace Ark," to aid displaced victims. 

 

Members of the medical crew stand at the inpatient room inside their Chinese Navy hospital ship Peace Ark before its departure from a navy base in Zhoushan, east of Shanghai, China, on a relief mission to the Philippines, on Thursday, Nov 21, 2013. Military flags fluttered in the wind aboard China's navy hospital ship Peace Ark as it began a goodwill mission to the Philippines on Thursday, nearly two weeks after the Southeast Asian country was struck by a devastating typhoon that killed more than 4,000 people. -- PHOTO: AP

In response to Typhoon Haiyan, which has claimed the lives of over 4,000 people, and has left millions homeless in the Philippines, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the country will be sending a hospital ship to aid victims who have lost homes and family members. The so-called “Peace Ark” is expected to set sail on Thursday, however, 16 members of the Red Cross Society of China were dispatched on Wednesday to areas with the largest devastation due to weather conditions.

“The 51-member emergency medical team sent by the Chinese government will set off within the next few days,” Foreign Ministry Representative Hong Lei said during a press conference on Wednesday. “The Red Cross Society of China will send an international rescue team to the disaster-hit areas in two groups. China will also dispatch the naval hospital ship, "Peace Ark," to join the relief effort in the disaster-hit areas.”

The Chinese government has been subject to heavy criticism for a lack luster effort to help typhoon victims in the aftermath of the Nov. 8 disaster. The relationship between China and the Philippines has been strained following territorial disputes over the South China Sea, The New York Times reported. China offered the services of its “state-of-the-art hospital ship” on Monday, which the Filipino Health Ministry graciously accepted.

With one of the largest economies in the world, second only to the United States, China announced that it would be donating $200,000 when the disaster initially occurred. The country recently changed its donation to $1.6 million, following an outcry from both international and domestic entities. Publications that usually support the communist state, such as the government owned People’s Daily, and its publishing asset the Global Times, have come out in protest against Beijing’s lethargic response.

“China has been following closely the typhoon disaster in the Philippines. It is reported that the disaster has injured about 20,000 people and left the disaster-hit areas lacking in doctors and medicine,” Lei added. “We have got the confirmation after coordinating with the Philippines and will send relief workers to the disaster-hit areas to provide humanitarian medical assistance in the spirit of healing the wounded and rescuing the dying. It reflects the Chinese people's goodwill toward the Philippine people.”

Contributed By Justin Caba

Philippine aid controversy shows powers jostling for regional dominance

Haiyan, the strongest typhoon to make landfall in recorded history, has killed over 3,976 people in the Philippines. But from the start, the size of the rescue package sent to Haiyan victims has been seen as a race.

Besides the initial emergency fund of $100,000 and the $100,000 in aid offered by the Red Cross Society of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China has pledged another 10 million yuan ($1.63 million) of rescue material to Manila on Thursday.

Washington is not shy to promote its rescue efforts to one of its important allies in Southeast Asia, with the aircraft carrier George Washington dispatched and $20 million offered, plus marines and sailors to distribute food and medicine. Japan also sent a high-profile rescue team including warships and 1,180 Self-Defense Forces members. Both countries have extensive experience in disaster relief work.

Rescue effort of Haiyan has particular political concern beside natural sympathy to the victims. Attention to the disaster relief to the typhoon stricken Philippines has reflected the rivalry among major powers for the regional dominant role.

Since Washington's pivot to the Asia-Pacific region in 2011, the South China Sea, among other areas, has witnessed escalating tension.

Alongside China's growing regional influence, Washington has to stress its ability to provide security to its allies to secure its influence in Southeast Asia. It becomes more urgent after President Barack Obama missed two important regional meetings in October and questions were raised about US commitment to its traditional allies.

Though on a humanitarian aid mission, the arrival of aircraft carrier George Washington has a strong symbolic meaning, as it signals US military presence and deployment ability in this strategically important region.

Japan, increasingly isolated in East Asia, is taking rescue efforts to strengthen its diplomacy in Southeast Asia, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has emphasized since the beginning of his current term. It is also a way for Japan to demonstrate its status as a regional power.

China's aid to the Philippines was criticized as "meager" and not matching its economic power. In the future, China will face increasing pressure to take more responsibilities in regional affairs.

For both the government and the public, there is a learning curve. Foreign ministry spokesperson Qin Gang remarked on Thursday that China's rescue aid to the Philippines is not a "one-time deal" and will correspond to the post-disaster situation.

Domestically, the Chinese public is tilting against sending rescue aid overseas. An online survey conducted by Sina News, following Chinese government's announcement of further aid, indicated that more than 65.3 percent of the people taking the poll believed the additional aid amount was more than enough, while 9.4 percent thought the figure was less than appropriate.

Some hold that sending aid to foreign countries is premature for a country still plagued by its own development problems. There are also voices opposing political factor affecting humanitarian support.

However, the case with Manila, a staunching ally of Washington's pivot policy, is more complicated not just because of the lasting row over the disputed Huangyan Island.

The Philippine government's incompetent performance in the hostage crisis in 2010 which killed eight Hong Kong tourists, the Aquino administration's stubborn refusal to apologize and failure to deliver proper compensation for that incident, and the Philippine Coast Guard shooting dead a Taiwanese fisherman this May all soured the Chinese public's perception toward their neighbor in the south.

Sending military force for overseas humanitarian aid is still a relatively new mission for China. The security dilemmas sparked by the expanding military footprint is a concern for Chinese authorities.

China's rise will be bound to be a bumpy process, and the controversy surrounding disaster aid to the Philippines attests to that.

Contributed By Guan Yan
The author is a commentator with the Global Times

Japanese troops welcomed back in typhoon-hit Philippines

 

Japanese troops welcomed back in typhoon-hit Philippines

Tacloban (Philippines) (AFP) - More than 1,000 Japanese troops were offered a warm welcome in the Philippines Friday as they prepared to launch relief operations across typhoon-devastated islands that were brutally occupied by Japan seven decades ago.

The troops were aboard three vessels that arrived at the central Philippine port of Cebu on Thursday night, an official at the Japanese embassy said, in what is the biggest overseas deployment of Japan's military since its defeat in World War II.

They will join a huge international relief effort to help survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which flattened dozens of towns through the central Philippines on November 8, leaving at least 5,500 dead or missing.

"We have already delivered small amounts of aid but the main effort will begin after a meeting with Philippine forces today," Takashi Inoue, deputy director of public affairs with the Japanese embassy in Manila, told AFP.

Japan's contribution to the humanitarian effort comes as a newly-confident Tokyo looks to make its mark again on the world order, after decades in which the idea of its troops on foreign soil was complete anathema.

In many parts of Asia, memories linger of the brutality of invading Japanese soldiers prosecuting an expansionist romp through the region in the name of the emperor.

In a twist of historic irony, the Japanese troops are returning to areas of the Philippines that saw Japan lose one of history's biggest naval battles to the US-led Allies.

Eulalia Macaya, 74, who survived World War II and the typhoon, said she remembered being terrified by Japanese troops as a little girl.

"We were hiding in holes dug under the floor of our homes," she recalled. "The Japanese soldiers were patrolling but we couldn't see much of them. We could only see their boots. We were so afraid."

But Macaya, who was waiting for treatment at a temporary field clinic set up by the Japanese government in Tacloban, the typhoon-ruined capital of Leyte, said she was very pleased the former occupier was back.

"I don't hold any grudges anymore. There's no more bad blood between us," she said.

Tente Quintero, 72, a former vice mayor of Tacloban, said that at a time of dispute with an increasingly emboldened China over the ownership of South China Sea islands, Filipinos now saw the Japanese as friends and allies.

He declared himself "happy" there were Japanese boots back on Philippines soil.

"There's nothing like two allies living in harmony with each other," he said.

Beatrice Bisquera, 91, said the devastation and hardships Haiyan had brought were worse than anything Filipinos suffered under Japanese military rule.

"During the Japanese occupation we just hid in the mountains. Now, there's nowhere to hide," she told AFP.

General Roy Deveraturda, Commanding General of the Philippine armed forces Central Command, said the Philippines was thankful for the Japanese typhoon support, and past animosities were no longer a concern.
"This is a different world. We have seen the generosity of their donation," he told AFP.

"They have already showed remorse. Their help is most welcome."

For some Japanese relief workers already on the ground in Leyte, their country's participation in the international relief effort alongside the United States is an indication of Japan's very different relationship with the outside world.

"Nearly 70 years ago, we were enemies. Now we're friends," said Joji Tomioka, a doctor helping to coordinate a civilian medical team.

"We cannot forget the past, but we must learn from history so that we will not do the same thing again."