China Criticizes Clintons Remarks About Dispute With Japan Over Islands

By JANE PERLEZ
Published: January 20, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/world/asia/china-criticizes-clintons-remarks-aboutdispute-with-japan-over-islands.html?_r=0
BEIJING In a harsh statement, China on Sunday accused Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton of presenting a distorted picture about its dispute with Japan over
islands in the East China Sea, and it expressed resolute opposition to her position.
As Dispute Over Islands Escalates, Japan and China Send Fighter Jets to the Scene
(January 19, 2013)
The Foreign Ministry said Mrs. Clinton ignores the facts and confuses right and wrong
in a short description she gave of the situation at a news conference in Washington on
Friday.
The unusual objection, released as Mrs. Clinton prepares to step down as secretary of
state, appears to have been prompted by a new phrase used by Mrs. Clinton in what was
an otherwise standard reference to the escalating feud between China and Japan.
With Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan standing beside her, Mrs. Clinton said that
the Obama administration opposed any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine
Japanese administration of the islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.
The reference to unilateral actions was interpreted in the Japanese news media as
meaning that the United States was unhappy with Chinas recent actions in the East China
Sea, where the islands are located.
In the past several months, both China and Japan have sent civilian maritime vessels to
the waters around the uninhabited islands. On Jan. 10, China ordered a surveillance
aircraft to fly near the area. In response, Japan scrambled F-15 fighter jets to take a look,
and in response to the Japanese, the Chinese dispatched J-10 fighter jets.
The tit-for-tat moves have raised concerns that an accident could occur and lead to a
dangerous cycle of retaliation.
Under a longstanding security treaty with Japan, the United States is obliged to defend
the country, including the uninhabited islands, a position that Mrs. Clinton referred to at
the news conference. She also repeated that Washington recognized that the islands were
administered by Japan.
For its part, China insists that the islands belong to China, a claim that it says is supported
by historical documents.
The statement on Sunday by the Foreign Ministrys chief spokesman, Qin Gang, said that
Japan had constantly adopted escalatory and provocative actions and that the United
States has a historical responsibility over the Diaoyu Islands that cannot be shirked. The
Foreign Ministry did not elaborate on the meaning of the American responsibility, but it
appeared to be a reference to the return of the islands to Japan by the United States in
1972 at the same time that Okinawa was handed back to Japan.
In addition to the Foreign Ministry statement, the Chinese military unleashed strong
warnings in its news media outlets about the need for the army to be ready for war.

The reports did not refer directly to Japan, but more broadly echoed a recent declaration
by the new Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping, that the Chinese military could not rest
on its laurels after a long period of peace.
The Peoples Liberation Army Daily, a military newspaper, said Sunday in a front-page
article that a long period without battle has encouraged the fixed habits of peace in some
of the military so that their preparedness for battle is dulled.
The newspaper said that some troops had recently conducted exercises in the Beijing
military region.
As the tone of remarks toughens in China, the leader of the New Komeito Party, a
coalition partner in the new Japanese government led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is
expected in Beijing this week.
The party leader, Natsuo Yamaguchi, said he would travel to China in an effort to relieve
tensions and take a step toward managing the dispute, if not solving it.
The New Komeito Party has been involved in previous reconciliation efforts with China,
most notably in 1972 when China and Japan resumed normal diplomatic relations with
each other.
A version of this article appeared in print on January 21, 2013, on page A4 of the New
York edition with the headline: China Criticizes Clintons Remarks About Dispute With
Japan Over Islands.