Tensions Persist

[Unkotare]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/world/asia/japan-recalls-ambassador-to-china.html?_r=1



I note the Times references "Japan's conservative Prime Minister." Noda, and his party are anything but conservative.

 

[Mad Scientist]

"Conservative" and "Liberal" have different meanings in Japan as it relates to Politics. It's the same in Europe.

 

[waltky]

China actin' like dat 800lb. gorilla...

China plays by its own rules
Sat, Jul 14, 2012 - If China were an elementary-school student, its report card would read: “Does not play well with others; often tries to bully smaller children.”

Beijing does not like to play in a group where it cannot dictate the rules or the results. That seems to be the message from this week’s ASEAN+ meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where China once again rebuffed calls from the Philippines, Vietnam and others to agree to talks on operating in disputed areas of the South China Sea. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying was quoted as saying on Wednesday that Beijing would discuss a code of conduct in the South China Sea — that would be legally binding and comply with the UN’s Law of the Sea treaty — “when conditions are ripe,” which, reading between the lines, means when pigs can fly.

Beijing prefers one-on-one negotiations with its smaller neighbors where it can throw its weight around in the form of trade and political pressure. It does not want to have to face a united front of other countries, including Taiwan, that claim, either wholly or in part, islands, reefs and waters in the South China Sea. The nationalistic slant is that China was once the victim of unequal treaties with Western powers and Japan and it will not allow itself to be put in that position again.

The problem is that the longer Beijing maintains that position, the less reason there is for the others to agree to wait and not try to work out something for themselves, particularly as China continues to demonstrate its reluctance to be governed by the rule of law when it comes to commercial disputes, whether on the private or national level. Taiwanese companies and businesspeople have learned this the hard way, with Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store Co the latest to downsize its investment in a joint venture in China in a bid to end years of disputes with its Chinese partner that saw the general manager of its Beijing operations detained by Chinese security a few years ago.

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