Premiers answer calls for direct hotline
- Source: Global Times
- [03:09 June 01 2010]
- Comments
Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Tokyo, May 31, 2010. (Xinhua Photo)
By Kang Juan
China and Japan agreed Monday to reestablish a hotline between the premiers of the two countries and resume formal talks on seabed gas exploration in the East China Sea, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The pledge was made in Tokyo during talks between visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
The Kyodo News Agency reported that Japan and China discussed more than 10 years ago the launch of a hotline between their leaders, but their efforts never came to fruition.
That looks to change, though, as a Japanese government official was Monday quoted by Reuters as saying that the two leaders agreed to activate a hotline to discuss what Wen called "important issues" between the two nations and to avert emergencies. The hotline would be between only political leaders, not defense chiefs.
Huang Dahui, a professor of Japanese politics at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that the establishment of the hotline is a show of deepening bilateral relations, as well as increasing disputes between China and Japan.
China's rapid economic growth has led to the co-existence of two major powers in Asia, creating more competition and cooperation, and necessitating the need for the high-level hotline, Huang said.
Huang argued that historical issues haven't been the focus of Sino-Japanese ties since 2006, when Junichiro Koizumi stepped down as Japanese prime minister, but mu-tual mistrust is still the biggest problem between the two counties, especially in their maritime strategies.
"Japan, a traditional marine power, is always wary of China's naval buildup and growing presence," Huang said. "A new hotline will help strengthen communication and mutual trust."
Wen and Hatoyama also reportedly reached a deal to establish a maritime crisis management mechanism between defense departments, following a series of disputes at sea.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense complained last month that Chinese military helicop-ters twice buzzed Japanese naval vessels that were monitoring Chinese military activities in the East China Sea and in international waters. Chinese defense officials responded by saying Japan shouldn't take "drastic action" to disrupt Chinese vessels undergoing training exercises.
Hatoyama relayed his concerns to Wen over such recent encounters and urged Beijing not to let similar incidents occur again, Kyodo reported.
In a speech given later to the Japanese Business Federation, Wen pledged that "China will keep taking the path of peaceful development in the long term."
Sun Zhe, director of the Research Center for Sino-US Relations at Tsinghua University, noted that the East China Sea issue between China and Japan is very complicated and serious. It's a territorial dispute involving resource exploitation and maritime security.
