Wen Jiabao / Jiang Yu: This Sophistry will not Stand

Chongzhuanged in New York: Wen Jiabao

冲撞 (pinyin: chōng zhuàng) has at least two meanings: to bump into someone or something else (a more neutral translation would be to collide with someone or something), and to offend someone.

To be chongzhuanged is the best thing that can happen to you if you are a fenqing, or a fenlao, i. e. in constant need for angry and rightful agitation in your otherwise boring or hopeless personal life.

By bumping into an innocent Chinese fishing boat, a Japanese patrol boat triggered the anger of the entire Chinese people, Chinese chief state councillor Wen Jiabao (温家宝) told an audience of Overseas Chinese, Chinese insititutions, and overseas students’ representatives in New York on Tuesday evening (local time). The ongoing arrest of the fishing boat’s captain (Zhan Qixiong) was absolutely illegal and unreasonable, and had caused his relatives serious harm, said Wen, apparently referring to reports that the arrest of the fishing boat captain had led to the death of his grandmother. Besides, it had triggered the anger of Chinese at home and abroad. The Japanese side had turned a deaf ear to Chinese tries to negotiate, and the Chinese government had no other choice than to adopt the necessary countermeasures. If Japan didn’t release the captain unconditionally, China would begin to take action, and Japan would have to bear all the serious consequences (如果日方一意孤行，中方将进一步采取行动，由此产生的一切严重后果，日方要承担全部责任).

On Wednesday (local time in China), foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu accused Japan’s government of “indulging in untenable sophistry” (日方的狡辩是站不住脚的). Only if the Japanese side immediately corrected their mistake (纠正错误) and unconditionally released the arrested captain, further damage to relations between China and Japan could be avoided. The Japanese actions also violated the fourth political document (中日第四个政治文件) between the two countries which stipulated that problems should be solved by dialog.

Japan and China had agreed to issuing a fourth political document in May 2008, during a visit by Chinese party and state chairman Hu Jintao to Japan. Previous political documents had been the China-Japan Joint Communiqué of 1972, the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1978 and the China-Japan Joint Declaration of 1998, according to the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) in New Delhi.

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Related
“My Granny died at the hands of an imperialist Japanese kitchen machine”, July 27, 2009
Scientific: The Hainan EP-3 Incident, Aug 8, 2010

ASEAN Unity: Smile, and show your Teeth

China expressed concern Tuesday over a possible joint statement from the US and ASEAN concerning the South China Sea, adding that it opposes the internationalization of the maritime issue, according to Chinese newsagency Xinhua. Any country having nothing to do with the South China Sea issue getting involved in the dispute would only complicate rather than help solve the issue, Xinhua quotes Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu (姜瑜). “The issue can only be resolved bilaterally through friendly negotiation in a peaceful manner,” said Jiang, adding that there has already been smooth negotiation between China and the relevant countries.

Meantime, the Manila Times, in an editorial of today, calls on ASEAN to be united in wanting a peaceful resolution to problems in the South China Sea, a difficult task given that many of its members also have competing claims over the Spratlys.

If the Philippines were to have a chance of tapping those potential riches, it will need the protection of international law — one that would have teeth given the support of the United States. […] We recognize, however, that the Philippines and other Asians cannot — and must not — rely on American protection alone. The US, of course, has its own interests to protect, and that much is clear from the statements of its officials. […] When he meets the other Asean heads and President Obama, President Aquino will hopefully step in stride with our neighbors and resist the direction set by his predecessor, Mrs. Gloria Arroyo, who ditched Asean unity and signed the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking with China and Vietnam for oil and mineral explorations in the South China Sea.

The Philippines, under President Aquino, should stick it out with Asean, which has shown that it can stand up to China. Working together in the past, Asean persuaded the Mainland to drop its resistance to the “internationalization” of the South China Sea issue. On its own, the Philippines does not stand a chance against China.

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Related
South China Sea: Five Questions to a Hegemon, Aug 18, 2010