Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga meets with visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Blinken at the Prime Minister’s residence on March 16.
The U.S.-Japan 2+2 meeting was followed by a joint statement criticizing the Chinese Communist Party‘s failure to abide by the international order and its poor human rights record, saying that the Chinese Communist Party “systematically encroaches on Hong Kong‘s autonomy, undermines Taiwan‘s democracy, destroys human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, and violates international law in the South China Sea. Moreover, from Prime Minister Kan to Japan’s defense minister, all of them have criticized the CCP’s actions by name on different occasions.
With deep interests, close neighbors, and other factors, Japan has always tried to maintain a balanced relationship with China, and even after the June 4 Incident in 1989, when Japan was widely criticized for its rather restrained response compared to other Western countries, it seems to be a different era now.
After Japan encountered fierce criticism from the Chinese Communist Party following the U.S.-Japan joint statement, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimichi Mogi told the media on the evening of the 17th that he “has confirmed that there will be no concessions on shared values such as democracy and human rights.” He made it clear that Japan would also not concede on human rights and maritime activities in order to maintain economic ties with China.
More importantly, publicly and harshly criticizing the Chinese Communist Party, Japan is not subordinate to the United States, but clearly and unmistakably making its own choices. This is evident from the public statements of Japanese Ambassador to Beijing Hideo Chui. On Thursday, Japanese Ambassador to Beijing Hideo Chui visited Tianjin and met with Li Hongzhong, a member of the Communist Party’s Politburo and Secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee, who moved along the lines of China’s past treatment of Japan, strongly condemning “Japan’s blatant criticism of China’s internal affairs and interference in issues such as Hong Kong, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and Taiwan, which clearly undermine the improving relations between the two countries. I deeply regret it.”
The Japanese ambassador’s response could not be clearer, Hideo Chui said, “If there are problems between the two countries, they should be properly communicated and resolved, and I cannot accept Secretary Li’s statement at all!” What a one-on-one, tit-for-tat. China is not sure if it realizes that Japan’s traditionally tolerant diplomacy is a thing of the past.
The anger of the Chinese Communist Party can be seen in Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian‘s derogatory statement against Japan after the U.S. and Japan issued tough statements against Beijing on Wednesday. Zhao Lijian blasted Japan for “looking up to others” and “acting like a wolf” and warned Japan not to “act as a vassal of the United States” and “not to draw wolves into the house. “Zhao Lijian’s words sounded as if Japan had suddenly turned its back on China, an old friend, in a completely coercive and contemptuous tone.
Japan criticized the CCP by name, and the CCP wanted to take advantage of the Japanese ambassador’s visit to Tianjin to further express its discontent. Li Hongzhong tried to convey Beijing’s anger back to Japan through the Japanese ambassador, but apparently to no avail, and was disliked by the Japanese ambassador on the spot.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the official media ‘Global Times’, also seemed surprised by Japan’s reaction. According to Hu, “this is the most strongly worded statement against the CCP in all the U.S.-Japan 2+2 talks,” claiming that Washington’s attitude clearly dominated the change. By bowing to Washington’s position, Japan is handing a new pitch to the U.S., which has changed administrations. This will erode Beijing’s trust in the coherence of Tokyo’s attitude toward improving relations with China.”
Hu concluded by threatening, “I hope that U.S. allies, including Japan, will always have their heads on straight and not think that it is safe to defect to the U.S. only to hand the U.S. a bill of attainder on China that they simply cannot afford to pay.” Hu Xijin forgot that between Japan and the United States, there is a security treaty, Japan has always been an ally of the United States, there is no question of defection, China and Japan are neighbors, but there has never been an ally relationship.
Whether Zhao Lijian, Li Hongzhong or Hu Xijin, they forgot that Japan’s attitude is so clear that three feet of ice is not a day’s cold. The Chinese Communist Party’s frequent “access” to the disputed Diaoyu Islands, which Japan calls the Senkaku Islands, and its “expansion in the East China Sea and South China Sea” have naturally done little to strengthen bilateral relations. This is why the Tokyo authorities no longer mention the planned state visit of Chinese Communist Party President Xi Jinping to Japan, and sources in the Japanese government have revealed that the state visit will have to be arranged for Xi Jinping to meet with The Emperor, and that the current antipathy of the Japanese towards China has reached an unprecedented level. It is obviously impossible to arrange such a meeting.
The Xi Jinping regime has a seriously poor international image and is making more and more enemies in the world, Japan is originally a friend of the United States, in the United States need to unite allies to counterbalance the Chinese Communist Party, it is only natural that the U.S.-Japan relationship is strengthened.
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