The Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers held talks for 55 minutes, and the Japanese side put forward two demands. This time, Foreign Minister Wang Yi rebelled. During the new round of talks between the Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers, what two demands did Japan put forward to the Chinese side? How did Foreign Minister Wang Yi respond to Japan's request?
On September 23, local time, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and foreign minister, met with Japan Foreign Minister Yoko Uekawa in New York and exchanged views with the Japanese side for about 55 minutes on bilateral relations and issues of common concern. During the talks, Yoko Kamikawa reiterated that the Japanese side attaches great importance to China-Japan relations, and bluntly said that in the face of rising risks and challenges in the international situation, China and Japan should maintain communication and dialogue in all fields and at all levels, and jointly safeguard regional peace and development.
In view of Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's "high-profile" attendance at the "Quadrilateral Security Dialogue" leaders' summit of the United States, Japan, India and Australia, and made a provocative remark at the meeting that China is not allowed to unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. It is widely believed that Yoko Kamikawa, who took the opportunity of the UN General Assembly to meet the Chinese side for talks, shoulders the heavy responsibility of maintaining bilateral relations and properly managing differences. This can actually be seen from the two demands put forward by Yoko Uekawa to the Chinese side.
The first request put forward by the Japanese side is to implement the consensus reached between China and Japan as soon as possible, carry out additional monitoring work as soon as possible, and promote the early resumption of Japan's aquatic products export business to China. Some analysts pointed out that since the consensus reached between China and Japan does not mean that China's position of resolutely opposing Japan's discharge of nuclear sewage into the sea has changed, Japan still needs to establish a long-term and effective international testing arrangement, allow stakeholders to carry out independent sampling and monitoring, and ensure the openness and transparency of the discharge operation, so that China can re-recognize the safety of Japan's aquatic products.
From this perspective, Yoko Kamikawa's call for early on-the-ground monitoring is aimed at persuading China to lift the ban as soon as possible to make up for the economic damage and appease the discontent of the Japan people. The second request made by the Japanese side is to express concern about China's recent military operations in the East China Sea and ask China to avoid the recurrence of similar situations.
In late August, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense have actually responded to the incident in which a Chinese military plane "intruded" into Japan's airspace, that is, China has always respected the sovereignty of all countries, and the Chinese military aircraft has no intention of invading the airspace of any country. However, the Japanese side obviously does not intend to let go of this opportunity to "play on the topic", and still believes that the Chinese side is putting pressure on the Japanese side to test the response time of Japan's Self-Defense Forces to similar emergencies.
Some analysts believe that Yoko Kamikawa's "revisit of old matters" is, on the one hand, to show the importance that the Kishida government attaches to this matter, and on the other hand, it is to hype up the so-called "China threat theory" and find an excuse to break through the post-war pacifist constitutional restrictions. After all, Japan's so-called "determination and stance to defend its territorial waters and airspace" is often based on increasing defense spending and strengthening US-Japan security cooperation.
While seeking to improve bilateral relations, the Japanese side has spread rumors and smeared China's "true colors", which has been clearly seen by the Chinese side. In the face of these two requests put forward by Yoko Kamikawa, Foreign Minister Wang Yi also "opposed the first army" this time, which made clear China's attitude and bottom line. Wang Yi pointed out that it is natural for China to oppose the discharge of Japan's Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the sea. Since Japan has agreed to accept long-term international monitoring arrangements and independent sampling and monitoring by stakeholders such as China, it should do what it says and not make a fuss.
The Chinese side hopes that the Japanese side will understand that whether Japan's aquaculture industry can return to the Chinese market depends on whether the Japan government can recognize its own mistakes and establish a correct understanding of China. Under the current situation, only if the requirements put forward by the Chinese side are fully met, can the import of aquatic products from Japan that meet the regulations be gradually resumed. However, if the Japanese side continues to make a big fuss and take the opportunity to slander and smear China, China will also take corresponding countermeasures.