Monday September 10, 2012

Japan to buy islands in China dispute (Updated)

TOKYO: Japan will nationalise a group of islands at the centre of a territorial dispute with China, the government said Monday, as Tokyo tries both to appease nationalists and keep Beijing onside.

In a deal reported to be worth 2.05 billion yen ($26 million) Premier Yoshihiko Noda's administration agreed to buy three islands it already administers, which China claims as its own.

"During the ministerial meeting today, we agreed that we will obtain the ownership of the three Senkaku islands as quickly as possible," Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters, using the Japanese name for what China calls Diaoyu.

The decision to purchase the islands, which will be formally owned by Japan's Coast Guard, was aimed at their "quiet and stable maintenance", he added.

Noda has been somewhat bounced into the deal by Shintaro Ishihara, the outspoken right wing governor of Tokyo, who said he wanted them developed to protect Japanese sovereignty.

China has reacted with muted irritation since reports emerged that the Japanese government was going to buy the chain from their private landowners.

Analysts say Noda's solution - owning the islands and not doing anything with them - is the best thing he could do because it will go some way to assuaging nationalist fervour at home while not annoying China too much.

Fujimura said the purchase is "not an issue that would stir problems with other countries".

"Having said that, we hope that it doesn't influence broader Japan-China relations. After the Chinese side expressed interest, diplomats from both countries have kept in close contact."

Often testy Japan-China ties took a turn for the worse in August when pro-Beijing activists landed on one of the islands.

They were arrested by Japanese authorities and deported. Days later about a dozen Japanese nationalists raised their country's flag on the same island, Uotsurijima, prompting protests in cities across China.

In Beijing, the foreign ministry reiterated China's claims over the islands, which lie around 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Taiwan, and 2,000 kilometres from Tokyo.

China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi lodged a "strong protest" with the Japanese ambassador, calling the purchase "illegal" and "invalid".

"This in no way will change the historic fact of Japan's usurpation of China's territory, nor will it shake in the least China's territorial sovereignty over the Diaoyu Island and adjacent islands," a statement posted on the foreign ministry website quoted Yang as saying.

"The Chinese government and people will never allow our territory or sovereignty to be violated or damaged and will resolutely safeguard sovereignty over the Diaoyu Island and adjacent island."

"The Chinese side strongly urges the Japanese side to rescind the mistaken decision of 'purchasing the island'," he added.

Analysts say both sides are trying to reduce the diplomatic temperature as they eye the 40th anniversary of normalised ties at the end of the month.

Noda did not hold a formal summit with China's President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the weekend's Asia-Pacific economic summit in Vladivostok, but the two did meet informally.

Japan's government currently leases four islands and owns a fifth. It does not allow people to visit and has a policy of not building anything there.

The islands sit in a strategically important shipping area and valuable mineral resources are thought to be nearby.

Earlier Report:

Japan will buy islands claimed by China

TOKYO: The Japanese government will buy three islands at the centre of bitter territorial row with China, a spokesman said Monday after a cabinet meeting.

Fujimura said the government reached an accord with the Japanese landowners last Friday, but refused to reveal what price had been set. Media reports have put the deal at 2.05 billion yen ($26 million).

The decision to purchase the islands, which will be formally owned by Japan's Coast Guard, was aimed at their "quiet and stable maintenance", he added.

"We have confirmed the intention (to finalise the deal) with the three parties, including the Tokyo government. In terms of signing the contract, it's still in the future tense," he said.

Tokyo's nationalistic governor Shintaro Ishihara had vowed to purchase the island chain, which he said should be developed to protect the integrity of Japanese sovereignty.

Beijing and Taipei both claim the archipelago, which sits on an important shipping lane and is believed to harbour valuable resources. - AFP

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Monday September 10, 2012

Japan to buy islands in China dispute (Updated)