Opinion Sino-Japanese maritime tension

While no one was hurt in the collision,the incident has aggravated the growing maritime tension between China and Japan. The incident took place near a chain of uninhabited,but disputed,islands in East China Sea. Tokyo calls these the Senkaku while Beijing calls them Diaoyu. Japan currently controls the islands,but China and Taiwan both claim it as Chinese territories.

Tokyo says the incident has occurred in its territorial waters and that the captain will be prosecuted under the Japanese law. The incident has fired nationalist passion in China. A small group of Chinese demonstrated against the Japanese embassy in Beijing earlier this week,and the media has responded with anger. Beijing has also decided to deploy a ‘law enforcement vessel’ to protect its fishermen in the disputed waters.

Beijing’s Foreign Office denounced the captain’s arrest “absurd,illegal and invalid” and warned that,if badly handled,it “could have a serious impact on the larger interests of China-Japan relations.” The latest incident comes on top of a series of Sino-Japanese maritime incidents this year.

In August,a Chinese survey ship reportedly entered the waters of the exclusive economic zone claimed by Japan. In April,a Chinese helicopter buzzed Japanese military monitoring vessel in the vicinity of a Chinese naval exercise.

Japan is also quarreling with China over Beijing’s exploration for natural gas in the East China Sea. The two sides had agreed in 2008 on a broad set of guiding principles for the joint development of the offshore gas fields. Tokyo has accused Beijing drilling for oil in violation of this agreement.

Until now the Japanese island territories running parallel to China’s coastline have acted as a screen blocking Beijing’s access to the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. Coupled with the American naval domination of the region since the end of the Second World war,China’s maritime ambitions were severely constrained by the very geography of Western Pacific.

Not any longer. As it muscle grows,the Chinese navy has embarked on bolder moves in the Western Pacific. This in turn has alarmed Tokyo.

Japan’s annual defence White Paper released on Friday reflected the new concerns. It echoed the recent U.S. Report on Chinese military power which drew attention to China’s rapid military modenisation,especially the naval component.

Beyond all the arguments between Beijing and Tokyo is the inescapable fact that Chinese power is growing and Japan is losing ground. Will Japan will respond more purposefully to the rise of China or will it meekly submit?

India,which has begun to take a keen interest in the affairs of the Pacific,would be paying close attention.