Dangerous Precedents!
What one fears emerging from a rogue action such as the U.S. attack on Iraq are the precedents set for other nations to pursue their own national goals outside the rule of law and international peace-keeping standards. One gathers now that while making peace with India, China may be about to launch an aggressive military approach to Japanese efforts to develop oil resources in areas claimed by both. We may be beginning to see here what could be the beginning of the end -- world-wide conflict to dominate our ever decreasing supply of essential resources -- oil, water, whatever. I doubt that the Bush administration is in any position to cope with either this new Asian conflict or the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the face of its professed (through its appointments) contempt for international standards of conduct. Who will take a Bolton seriously outside of right wing Bush supporters? Those who do not know or recognize history are condemned to repeat it -- now with a wide variety of WMDs?
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* China premier hits back at Japan *
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao tells Japan to "face up to history" after protests against its controversial textbooks.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4435521.stm
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Japan Snubs China on Gas, History Feud Simmers
By REUTERS
Published: April 13, 2005
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan began allocating rights for gas exploration in a disputed area of the East China Sea on Wednesday, a move likely to rile China at a time when ties are at rock-bottom levels in a dispute over Japan's wartime past.
A senior Chinese official, calling the energy dispute one of the main problems plaguing Sino-Japanese relations, had warned Tokyo a day earlier not to award the test drilling rights and said doing so would ``fundamentally change the issue.''
Simmering tensions between the two Asian giants over a range of topics, especially what China sees as Japan's failure to own up to wartime atrocities, erupted in China at the weekend, with thousands of people taking part in protests that turned violent.
Some concerns have arisen about a Japanese backlash. In Tokyo on Wednesday, members of a right-wing group shouted slogans at the Chinese embassy, where security has been tightened, and dragged Chinese flags behind two vans, a witness said.
Some Japanese media said officials had pressed for a decision on gas exploration before Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura goes to Beijing for a planned two-day visit from Sunday to seek a solution to the broader diplomatic impasse.
But top government spokesman Hiroyuki Hosoda said the timing of the decision was coincidental.
``This (drilling rights) is an issue that was pursued as an industrial issue. It just happened that awarding exploration rights began today,'' Hosoda told a news conference.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Japan was not trying to be confrontational.
``The aim is to turn a sea of confrontation into a sea of cooperation,'' Koizumi told reporters.
China and Japan, respectively the world's second- and third-biggest oil consumers, are also at odds over China's exploration for natural gas near an area Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone.
China overtook the United States as Japan's biggest trading partner in 2004 with about $178 billion in trade. Japanese corporations sank about $9.2 billion into China that year.
Hosoda noted that Japan had apologized in the past for the suffering caused by its wartime aggression.
``We have expressed deep reflections over history,'' he said.
``There is no change in that point of view. We have said many times that we want to maintain this attitude sincerely and put it into practice.''
Many in countries that were victims of Japan's World War II-era expansion feel past apologies have been insincere, partly because senior politicians often make contradictory remarks.
CONCERNS AND DISPUTES
On April 1, Tokyo reiterated its demand that China halt its own exploration project and provide data on its gas development projects in the area, giving Beijing about a week to provide a ``sincere'' response.
Unless China provided the data, it would be hard for Japan to consider the possibility of joint development of gas fields, a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official told reporters.
Japan considers waters east of the midway point between its coastline and that of China to be its exclusive economic zone. It has voiced concern that nearby gas field development by China would draw reserves from geological structures that stretch under the seabed into its economic zone.
The two governments disagree on the location of the boundary between their respective zones.
``We made the decision because it is of vital importance to set up test drilling rights to protect Japan's national interests,'' a Japanese trade ministry official told reporters.
The process of creating and awarding the rights is likely to take several months. A decision on actual drilling would be made separately by the firms.
Teikoku Oil Co and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co said earlier this year that they would like to start exploring for oil and gas in the East China Sea as soon as possible if they got a government go-ahead.
The decision on drilling rights follows Japan's approval last week of school history books that critics say gloss over Japanese wartime atrocities.
The move ignited passions in China and both North and South Korea, where resentment runs deep over Japan's brutal 1910-1945 colonisation of the peninsula. Pyongyang late on Tuesday denounced the history texts, calling Tokyo a ``political dwarf.''
Machimura tried to soothe such anger, telling a group of visiting South Korean lawmakers on Wednesday that Japan regretted having caused pain to South Koreans during its colonial rule.
Thousands took part in the violent weekend protests in China which also targeted Tokyo's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday that Japan must ``face up to history squarely'' and that the protests should give Tokyo reason to rethink its bid for a permanent council seat.
At the United Nations, diplomats said they were watching the feud closely but so far it had had little impact, mainly because the chances for U.N. reform this year were fading anyway.
Tokyo has demanded an apology and compensation for damage caused to Japanese property in the protests, and urged China to protect Japanese firms and expatriates.
Beijing has not apologized.
.........................................................
* China premier hits back at Japan *
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao tells Japan to "face up to history" after protests against its controversial textbooks.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4435521.stm
.........................................................
Japan Snubs China on Gas, History Feud Simmers
By REUTERS
Published: April 13, 2005
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan began allocating rights for gas exploration in a disputed area of the East China Sea on Wednesday, a move likely to rile China at a time when ties are at rock-bottom levels in a dispute over Japan's wartime past.
A senior Chinese official, calling the energy dispute one of the main problems plaguing Sino-Japanese relations, had warned Tokyo a day earlier not to award the test drilling rights and said doing so would ``fundamentally change the issue.''
Simmering tensions between the two Asian giants over a range of topics, especially what China sees as Japan's failure to own up to wartime atrocities, erupted in China at the weekend, with thousands of people taking part in protests that turned violent.
Some concerns have arisen about a Japanese backlash. In Tokyo on Wednesday, members of a right-wing group shouted slogans at the Chinese embassy, where security has been tightened, and dragged Chinese flags behind two vans, a witness said.
Some Japanese media said officials had pressed for a decision on gas exploration before Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura goes to Beijing for a planned two-day visit from Sunday to seek a solution to the broader diplomatic impasse.
But top government spokesman Hiroyuki Hosoda said the timing of the decision was coincidental.
``This (drilling rights) is an issue that was pursued as an industrial issue. It just happened that awarding exploration rights began today,'' Hosoda told a news conference.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Japan was not trying to be confrontational.
``The aim is to turn a sea of confrontation into a sea of cooperation,'' Koizumi told reporters.
China and Japan, respectively the world's second- and third-biggest oil consumers, are also at odds over China's exploration for natural gas near an area Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone.
China overtook the United States as Japan's biggest trading partner in 2004 with about $178 billion in trade. Japanese corporations sank about $9.2 billion into China that year.
Hosoda noted that Japan had apologized in the past for the suffering caused by its wartime aggression.
``We have expressed deep reflections over history,'' he said.
``There is no change in that point of view. We have said many times that we want to maintain this attitude sincerely and put it into practice.''
Many in countries that were victims of Japan's World War II-era expansion feel past apologies have been insincere, partly because senior politicians often make contradictory remarks.
CONCERNS AND DISPUTES
On April 1, Tokyo reiterated its demand that China halt its own exploration project and provide data on its gas development projects in the area, giving Beijing about a week to provide a ``sincere'' response.
Unless China provided the data, it would be hard for Japan to consider the possibility of joint development of gas fields, a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official told reporters.
Japan considers waters east of the midway point between its coastline and that of China to be its exclusive economic zone. It has voiced concern that nearby gas field development by China would draw reserves from geological structures that stretch under the seabed into its economic zone.
The two governments disagree on the location of the boundary between their respective zones.
``We made the decision because it is of vital importance to set up test drilling rights to protect Japan's national interests,'' a Japanese trade ministry official told reporters.
The process of creating and awarding the rights is likely to take several months. A decision on actual drilling would be made separately by the firms.
Teikoku Oil Co and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co said earlier this year that they would like to start exploring for oil and gas in the East China Sea as soon as possible if they got a government go-ahead.
The decision on drilling rights follows Japan's approval last week of school history books that critics say gloss over Japanese wartime atrocities.
The move ignited passions in China and both North and South Korea, where resentment runs deep over Japan's brutal 1910-1945 colonisation of the peninsula. Pyongyang late on Tuesday denounced the history texts, calling Tokyo a ``political dwarf.''
Machimura tried to soothe such anger, telling a group of visiting South Korean lawmakers on Wednesday that Japan regretted having caused pain to South Koreans during its colonial rule.
Thousands took part in the violent weekend protests in China which also targeted Tokyo's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday that Japan must ``face up to history squarely'' and that the protests should give Tokyo reason to rethink its bid for a permanent council seat.
At the United Nations, diplomats said they were watching the feud closely but so far it had had little impact, mainly because the chances for U.N. reform this year were fading anyway.
Tokyo has demanded an apology and compensation for damage caused to Japanese property in the protests, and urged China to protect Japanese firms and expatriates.
Beijing has not apologized.
posted by Ed Kent at 9:08 AM
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