China Demands Japanese Apology & Compensation
Japan caved in to Chinese pressure and released the trawler captain who rammed two Japanese coast guard ships, but they have failed to put an end to Chinese anger. Now the Chinese government is demanding that Japan apologize and pay compensation because it “violated the human rights” of a Chinese citizen:
The Chinese Foreign Ministry declared that “Japan must apologize and pay damages to China over this incident,” the first time that China has made such demands in the standoff over the detention of Zhang, who arrived at Fuzhou in the Chinese province of Fujian early on the morning of Sept. 25.
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A declaration by China’s Foreign Ministry on the captain’s arrest stated that Japan had “flagrantly violated the territorial and sovereign rights of China and the human rights of its citizens.” It continued, “The Chinese government proclaims its strong protest.”
The Japanese government has refused China’s latest demands…for now. China has yet to call off the punitive measures it has taken against Japan, and it may decide to continue punishing Japan until it gets an apology and reparations payments. Hopefully, the Japanese government will have enough spine to resist such disgustingly ridiculous requests.
The Economist and the Diplomat have both argued that China’s bullying behavior in this case will convince its neighbors that China is not their friend, something that will hurt China in the long-run. China has shown itself to be an immature brute that cannot be trusted:
This has also been a test of China, though in a way the country seems not to understand. Its actions have called into question its maturity as a responsible international actor and undermined its pretensions to a “peaceful rise”. Other states observe a host of traditions to help see them work through border disputes and express their displeasure with one another. The melodrama of China’s reaction, entirely disproportionate to the matter at hand, made it impossible for the two sides to find a mutually acceptable outcome. The acute crisis may be over but this resolution is sure to usher in an extended period of chill between the countries.
Which is a terrible outcome. Until recently, both countries had seen their economies flourishing as a result of strengthening trade ties. Since 2009 China has been Japan’s number-one trading partner. And the new Democratic Party of Japan government is the most pro-China administration in recent times. All this goodwill is lost.
However, even if China has build up a lot of ill will in the region, it is still rising and it is still powerful. The kids on the playground may know and distrust the bully, but nobody seems to have enough guts to stand up to him. China forced Japan to bend to its will, and it will probably continue using such tactics to force its neighbors to do the same.
There are a few signs of hope. While China was refusing to meet with Japan at the UN in New York, Prime Minister Kan met with Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold, who has agreed to help supply Japanese companies with rare earth metals:
China’s threat to ban the export of rare earth metals to Japan has been seen as a major sign that foreign companies are relying far too much on the Chinese, who currently supply 90% of the world’s rare earth metal needs. Several companies have already announced an acceleration of plans to develop non-Chinese sources of rare earth metals.
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