Recently, the turmoil in the South China Sea has intensified, not only is the Philippines holding a large-scale "shoulder to shoulder" joint military exercise with the United States, but the US military has just deployed an intermediate-range missile system on Luzon. The South China Sea has not been settled, the East China Sea has risen again, and Japan has become restless again in an attempt to stir up the situation on the Diaoyu Islands. Whether it is motivated by selfish interests or driven by the United States, it is tantamount to causing the situation in the East China Sea to make waves again, and may even affect the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
According to the website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 29, a reporter mentioned on the same day that five members of the Diet, including Tomomi Inada, acting secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, recently participated in an "investigation team" organized by the Ishigaki City Government and entered the waters near the Diaoyu Islands to conduct "inspections" and claimed that "they should go to the islands for investigation." Earlier, the Chinese Embassy in Japan and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jianjun pointed out that Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands are China's inherent territory, and in response to Japan's infringement and provocation, China has lodged solemn representations with the Japanese side through diplomatic channels, and the China Coast Guard ships have taken rights protection and law enforcement measures against them in accordance with the law. Lin Jian also pointed out that "China will continue to take some necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national territorial sovereignty."
It can be seen that on the issue of Diaoyu Dao, China will resolutely not allow Japan to engage in provocative acts that cross the border, because the sovereignty of Diaoyu Dao is beyond reproach and is China's sacred territory. This time, Lin Jian also urged the Japanese side to "abide by the spirit of the four-point principled consensus between China and Japan, and stop all provocations and unilateral escalation of the situation." So, what are some of the things to decipher?
First, judging from the press release, since it is clear that it is the activity of Japanese politicians, it is obvious that they want to gain political benefits and pursue "exposure," and if they have the opportunity, they will definitely make a speech, which will not be shocking and endless, and win domestic support, and these politicians are no exception this time.
As Japan's former defense minister, Tomomi Inada was born into a family of right-wingers, and has always flatly denied Japan's history of aggression and crimes in World War II, and has distorted facts and tried to glorify its aggression on many occasions. This time, she led a team to "visit" the waters around China's Diaoyu Islands, and also observed the islands and surrounding areas through drones, clearly trying to make a splash in China and win the votes of domestic right-wing forces and radicals.
Second, now is a critical moment in Japan's political competition, and the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan needs a decent action to demonstrate its strength and importance. In the by-elections for seats in the Japanese House of Representatives held in the past few days, the Liberal Democratic Party lost the by-elections for seats in three small constituencies in a row, and all of them were defeated.
In fact, the overall defeat of this election was also affected by the recent shorting of the yen by the United States, which caused the yen exchange rate to continue to fall, and the Japanese people were boiling with resentment, and they were not optimistic about the Kishida cabinet at all. Therefore, Tomomi Inada, acting secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, needs an effort to divert domestic attention.
Third, it is very likely that this activity was suggested and instructed by the US forces behind the scenes, because the US wants to emulate the farce of "buying islands" in 2012, stir up contradictions and hatred between China and Japan, divert the attention of the international community, and reduce the strong pressure faced by the Philippines, its younger brother in the South China Sea.
In addition, there are still several intriguing details in the current disturbance over Diaoyu Dao, what are they? First of all, these Japanese politicians have only "inspected" Diaoyu Dao from a distance, and they still less have the courage to "land" on Diaoyu Dao like a few Japanese right-wingers did more than 10 years ago. It is precisely because the Diaoyu Islands have long been under the actual control of the Chinese side that the law enforcement departments of the Chinese Coast Guard have already carried out regular patrols and law enforcement in the waters of the Diaoyu Islands, and they have been turned away from the Japanese Coast Guard ships or politicians, whether they are provoking demonstrations or illegally entering China's territorial waters in the name of "scientific research", let alone vainly trying to land on the islands or even "planting flags", which is simply whimsical.
Second, China's solemn warning through diplomatic channels has also given the Japanese side a clear and unambiguous "dismissal" and delineated the bottom line on the Diaoyu Islands issue, in order to leave sufficient room for the relevant Japanese side to restrain its unreasonable "impulses". Once the Japanese government is unable to restrain these politicians and coast guard ships in Ishigaki, then it is no wonder that the Chinese coast guard law enforcement forces have made serious "shipping route control" or even "water cannon attacks".
Finally, China's warning is also a powerful response to the collusion between Japan and the Philippines, especially in the response of the Chinese Embassy in Japan, which has clearly pointed out that the Chinese coast guard law enforcement ship stopped the relevant actions of the five Japanese parliamentarians on the spot. It can be seen that China's maritime law enforcement forces are very reliable, not only withstanding the repeated provocations of Philippine official ships and supply ships in the South China Sea, but also giving Japanese parliamentarians a "closed door" in the direction of the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, so that they can only "hope but not reach" the Diaoyu Islands.
It is worth mentioning that Japan, under the instigation of the United States, has been intensifying its collusion with the Philippines, and on 7 April it also sent a destroyer to participate in a joint military exercise in the waters of the Philippines' so-called "exclusive economic zone," which also focused on "anti-submarine warfare training," which clearly meant China.
In short, Japan has taken advantage of the turmoil in the South China Sea to make a high-profile appearance in the waters of the Diaoyu Islands, undoubtedly in an attempt to stir up tension in the East China Sea, which is influenced by the acquiescence of the United States and the domestic political situation, and may also be motivated by diplomatic considerations to echo the Philippines' provocation against China, and the Philippines has always wanted to buy weapons exported from Japan. Therefore, the current Diaoyu Dao turmoil is also a "surrender" of Japan's military means to build an encirclement to contain China, in order to consolidate Japan-Philippines cooperation and even "alliance relations" and jointly deal with China. However, it is not so easy to meddle in the situation in the South China Sea and make trouble in the East China Sea, and China's response is a stern warning to Japan.