China has been accused of “two-faced diplomacy” after pledging greater cooperation with Japan and South Korea in a high-level meeting, only for Chinese coast guard vessels to enter Japanese-controlled waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands the next day.
This move has sparked criticism in Japan, with some accusing their government of being overly trusting of China.
Four Chinese coast guard ships entered Japanese waters near the Senkaku Islands early Friday morning and stayed for 92 hours and 8 minutes, marking the longest intrusion since Japan nationalised the islands in 2012, according to the Japan’s coast guard.
The previous record was 80 hours and 36 minutes in 2023. The Senkaku Islands (known as Diaoyu Islands in China) are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. They are administered by Japan but claimed by China – and have been a longstanding flashpoint between the two countries.
The ships attempted to approach Japanese fishing boats before all four vessels left around 10.04pm on Monday, according to Japan coast guard officials in Okinawa.
Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya expressed concern over the “clearly escalating” presence of Chinese vessels near the disputed Senkaku Islands.
Two Chinese coast guard vessels entered Japan’s territorial waters near Minamikojima in the Senkaku Islands between 1.56am and 1.59am on Friday, according to the Japan’s coast guard. They reportedly made repeated attempts to approach nearby Japanese fishing boats and were later joined by two more ships.
According to the Kyodo News, an opposition lawmaker criticised the timing of the Chinese ships’ intrusion, calling it “extremely inappropriate” as it coincided with the bilateral foreign ministerial talks.
In response, Mr Iwaya said the meeting had occurred in “a conciliatory and friendly atmosphere”, but added, “it is truly regrettable that things like this happened, so we will deal with this issue in a resolute and calm manner”.
Earlier, following a trilateral meeting with China and South Korea on Saturday, Mr Iwaya expressed optimism about the high-level talks and said that there was “a frank exchange of views” and mentioned that the three countries had “confirmed that we will promote future-orientated cooperation”.
China’s Wang Yi had echoed this, advocating better communication to address shared challenges. However, tensions quickly resurfaced as Chinese coast guard vessels entered waters near the Senkaku Islands less than 24 hours later. Meanwhile, the Japanese were irked by their government’s trust in China. A reader on the Okinawa-based Yaeyama Daily News website criticised Beijing’s approach, calling it “two-faced diplomacy”, the South China Morning Post reported.
Online comments expressed frustration over China’s actions, with one saying: “We must not tolerate China’s tyrannical violations of international law.”
Others called for tougher measures from Tokyo, including changes to the law to “sink ships, arrest trespassers and punish them in court”.
