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3 Japan, China gear up
for gas talks By Hisane Masaki
protect vessels used by
marine-resource explorers as well as fishermen in
Japan's EEZ.
The bill stipulates that the
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry may
create off-limits zones near structures set up for
resource exploration and development in the EEZ.
Trespassers would be punished with prison terms
and fines. The legislation has been prepared to
support Teikoku Oil in an apparent bid to counter
natural-gas exploration conducted nearby by China.
The
biggest opposition Democratic
Party of Japan (DPJ) has also prepared a similar
bill.
Meanwhile, the LDP-led coalition
plans to submit to the current ordinary session of
the Diet - Japan's parliament - a bill to
establish a "basic marine law" to protect better
Japan's interests in the seas around the country,
including the disputed areas with China, through
management of Japan's EEZ, protection and
preservation of the marine environment,
development of underwater resources, and securing
safe marine transport.
The proposed law
would feature, among other things, the
establishment of a "comprehensive marine policy
council" within the Cabinet Office and creation of
the post of state minister in charge of marine
policy. The proposed law is designed to integrate
the nation's ocean and maritime policies, which
are now vertically divided among government
organizations. The LDP and its junior coalition
partner, New Komeito, are discussing with the DPJ
a possible unified bill to establish the basic
marine law. This month, the three parties agreed
on basic points of the bill.
In China,
meanwhile, demand for oil and natural gas has been
rising rapidly because of its red-hot economic
growth. China regards gas fields in the East China
Sea as a key energy source for the eastern coastal
areas, including Shanghai. Under such
circumstances, there seems little possibility of
China compromising with Japan. In addition, there
are political factors that apparently play an
equally important role in shaping Beijing's stance
on the gas issue.
The Chinese Communist
Party (CCP) leadership faces a politically
sensitive year. This year marks the 70th
anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident,
which triggered the second Sino-Japanese War
(1937-45), and also of the Nanking massacre,
commonly known as the Rape of Nanking, an infamous
war crime committed by Japanese soldiers.
The Chinese public's anti-Japan feelings
still run deep, especially because of a campaign
launched in the 1990s at the behest of
then-president Jiang Zemin, widely known for its
anti-Japan stance, which was aimed at instilling
such feelings in Chinese.
President Hu
Jintao, who took power in a CCP convention in the
autumn of 2002, succeeding Jiang, is widely
believed to be trying to consolidate his grip on
power at the next quinquennial party convention
this autumn. Hu is widely believed to be intending
to bring his close aides into the top echelons of
the party to get rid of the still-powerful
influence exerted by Jiang and his followers.
Therefore, any significant concession to
Japan on the gas dispute and other sensitive
issues would be politically risky. It could not
only invite a public backlash against the current
CCP leadership, but also provide Jiang and his
followers with powerful ammunition to launch
counterattacks against Hu and his followers.
South Korea reacted harshly to Abe's
recent controversial remarks that were widely
taken as an attempt to evade Japan's
responsibility for Asian women forced into sex
slavery for Japanese soldiers before and during
World War II. In stark contrast, China seems to be
at pains to avoid rocking the boat over the
"comfort women" issue, amid a thaw in relations
with Japan since Abe took office and also ahead of
Premier Wen's planned visit to Tokyo.
Chinese Foreign Minister Li has said that
Japan must confront its past of coercing women
into prostitution with Japanese troops. "The
forced use of so-called comfort women was one of
the most serious crimes committed by the Japanese
imperialists in World War II," Li told a news
conference recently on the sidelines of China's
annual meeting of parliament. But at the same time
he stressed his hopes for improved ties with
Tokyo.
Many experts agree that Tokyo and
Beijing need to deal with the gas dispute in a
cool-headed manner so as not to turn the East
China Sea into a "sea of confrontation". They also
say it is important for Japan to impart its
advanced energy-saving technology to China and
other energy-inefficient Asian economies. China
itself has set a goal of improving its energy
efficiency by 20% by 2010 in its current five-year
plan for economic and social development. Japan's
increased assistance for China in this area will
benefit both, because it helps China correct its
tendency to waste resources and possibly dull its
avid appetite for oil and gas reserves in the East
China Sea and elsewhere.
The two countries
are also preparing to hold the first meeting of
ministers in charge of economic affairs in Tokyo
early next month, before Wen's scheduled visit to
Japan. Abe and Wen agreed during the second East
Asia Summit, held in the Philippines in January,
to hold such a meeting on a regular basis to
discuss cooperation in a wide range of economic
areas, including energy and intellectual property
rights. Japan's assistance in the
energy-conservation area, as well as the gas
dispute, is expected to be high on the agenda.
Aside from the energy realm, many experts
agree that the two Asian neighbors need to do a
lot more to deepen mutual understanding of each
other's people and history. They specifically
stress that youth exchanges need to be further
promoted. They also emphasize that Japan needs to
teach its school pupils fully about the nation's
wartime history, while China needs to teach its
pupils fully about the pacifist path Japan has
followed after World War II, instead of just
focusing on its wartime atrocities. In making
these suggestions, some experts cite an old
saying: "The furthest way about is the nearest way
home."
Hisane Masaki is a
Tokyo-based journalist, commentator and scholar on
international politics and economy. Masaki's
e-mail address is yiu45535@nifty.com.
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