China Intensifies Media Attacks on Japan

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Piqued over Tokyo’s recent strategic outreach to Washington and Canberra, strong articulations on South and the East China Sea issues in international forums, supporting the demand to investigate the origin of COVID-19, and recognizing Taipei as a state has led to a barrage of belligerent attacks from Beijing’s official and controlled media. From calling Japan as an ‘attendant’, and insulting its leader as a ‘pawn’ of the US, Chinese pensharks have now started issuing indirect threats to Japanese national interest.

 @Kunal_Chonkar

New Delhi: Rattled over Japan’s increasingly close engagements with like-minded nations on regional security projects and strong articulation of its vision on freedom and democracy in the region, China has now started to indirectly warn Tokyo with dire consequences. Beijing which had formally cautioned Tokyo on its ‘decoupling’ policies is now hurling invective and even issuing threats through its pensharks.

The spree of China’s belligerent media attack on Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his diplomatic outreach started after Tokyo teamed up with Washington, ahead of the US-Japan summit in April, in echoing anti-Beijing sentiments. Japanese leadership shared concerns with their US counterparts on human rights in the Xinjiang region, and China’s military buildup and claims to territory in the South and East China Seas.

Telephonic Lessons

On 5 April, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a telephonic conversation, reminded his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi to ensure that their relations ‘do not get involved in the so-called confrontation between major countries.’ The official statetement released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted Wang cautioning Japan on ‘being misled by some countries holding biased view against China.’ On 18 April, Chinese state media in a commentary written by its editor attacked Prime Minister Suga by calling his approach towards China as ‘skewed’ and a policy that will surely cast ‘shadow on Japan’s future.’ The commentary also carried a cartoon depicting a sumo wrestler only wearing a mawashi merely sitting on a tandem bicycle pedaled by a cyclist wearing blue and red representing President Joe Biden.

In the following the month Chinese officials and media continued to train their sharp remarks and reminders to Tokyo, with even Japanese domestic media starting to canvass Beijing’s picture is a ‘public enemy’ of freedom and democracy. The Japanese media called upon the leadership to embark on a ‘strict policy’ against Beijing, with Chinese Coast Guard vessels repeatedly invading the territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.

Feeding Frenzy

On 9 June Prime Minister Suga referred to Taiwan as a country, immediately drawing fire on 10 June from China, which regards Taipei as a renegade province. In his first one-on-one parliamentary debate with opposition leaders Wednesday, Suga, naming Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan said that ‘such three countries have been imposing strong restrictions on privacy rights’ to curb the COVID-19 outbreak. The self-governed state of Taiwan under President Tsai Ing-wen is usually called a ‘region’ in Japan, with Beijing claiming Taipei to be an ‘inalienable part’ of its territory.

Addressing the weekly press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that ‘China expresses strong dissatisfaction with Japan’s erroneous remarks and has lodged a solemn protest against Japan.’ He further cautioned Tokyo by saying ‘there is only one China in the world. Japan must become more cautious in words and deeds on Taiwan affairs and avoid sending wrong signals to the island’s independence forces.’

China, who wanted Japan to cower from the public warning, was shocked when Prime Minister Suga on 12 June, not only supported the necessity of investigating the origin of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) at the G7 summit but also called upon nations to develop a cold chain (low-temperature logistics) that could transport the new COVID-19 vaccine to the inoculation site, which is being promoted in his country.

Tokyo topped its COVID-19 probe jolt to Beijing by formally agreeing to cooperate with Canberra to realize free and open Indo-Pacific. On 13 June, Prime Minister Suga and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison agreed to strongly oppose any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by economic intimidation and force. The Japanese and Australian governments confirmed at a ministerial meeting in charge of foreign affairs and defense (2-plus-2) that the Self-Defense Forces will add the Australian army to the target of ‘weapon protection’ to protect ships and aircraft of other countries’ forces. Based on this, the two leaders agreed to steadily promote security cooperation in the region.  

This caused a whirlwind of official and media reactions from Beijing targeting both leaders for their alleged ‘narrow-minded’ visions and tactics to ‘divide a united Asia.’ Amid the Chinese media, cacophony were the observations of a strategic expert from Beijing, who claimed that strategic posturing of Japan and Australia were puppeteered by the US.

On 14 June, Chinese scholar Teng Jianqun in his interview to a state-controlled television channel said that Tokyo and Canberra’s recent moves were part of the ‘three sea strategy’ devised by Washington under its grand military tactical plan called the ‘Indo-Pacific.’ He claimed that the US wants to get China involved in various disputes in the region so that ‘the mainland cannot maneuver well or develop a smooth response.’  Teng suggested that Washington is ‘getting countries like Japan to work in this strategy’ so that the US can then ‘contain China and realize some of its strategic objectives.’ He also commented that the Biden administration is using President Tsai and Prime Minister Suga as ‘pawns’ in its game. Teng alleged the US is ‘clearly collecting tactical information and intelligence’ in preparation for a regional conflict which will be ‘triggered over the South and East China Seas.’

On 15 June, a Beijing-run newspaper in an editorial questioned Prime Minister Suga’s leadership by saying ‘where is Japan heading in a world of increasing complexity and uncertainty?’ The editorial suggested the Japanese leadership to ‘calm down’ and ‘think slowly’ on the ‘path Japan should take’ and the ‘ways, it interacts with neighboring countries.’

Meanwhile, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi in his address to the 8th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus on 16 June – pointed out the continuous attempts to change the status quo by coercion in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. He also underscored that China’s Coast Guard Law, which entered into force in February, should never undermine the legitimate interests of relevant countries. He stated that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are important for the international community and expressed his expectation that the issues pertaining to Taiwan will be resolved peacefully.

In his virtual talks with EU leaders at the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Security, Defense on 17 June, the defense minister while referring to the reality of the the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region explained that Japan and EU nations are faced with a ‘common challenge.’ He emphasized the importance of Japan and EU nations’ confronting them together, that are sharing common values, and making our cooperation for maintaining and enhancing the vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific irreversible.

The remarks made by the Japanese minister were reproached by the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian in his weekly press briefing on 17 June itself. While responding to a question by a television reporter on trade and economic relations between China and Japan after Tokyo’s recent statements in international forums, Lijian warned Japan to first safeguard their ‘national interests’ before coordinating with other nations to counter Beijing. He said that ‘the Japanese Government has been coordinating with the US side to constrain and suppress the Chinese economy. It is implementing, or is studying, a series of policies to engage in so-called decoupling with China in industrial chain and supply chain.’ He added even cautioned the Japanese Government to immediately ‘reduce nonmarket artificial restrictions on and unnecessary political interference in China-Japan economic and trade cooperation.’

A day after China cautioned Japan to safeguard their national interest, Tokyo gave a befitting reply using Beijing’s repeated invasion of the territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands. On 18 June, the official release of the Japanese Cabinet meeting read ‘Sailing in Japan’s territorial waters while repeating China’s own claims regarding the Senkaku Islands by vessels belonging to China Coast Guard, etc. is not innocent passage approved by international law and is completely unacceptable. There is no doubt that the Senkaku Islands are territories unique to Japan, both historically and under international law, and in fact Japan effectively controls them.’

On the same day a critical commentary published by the website of a Chinese-run radio station posed two questions to the Japanese leadership – firstly are the western countries really united like a monolith against China? And secondly, does following the US deterrence of China really lead to Japan’s national interest? The commentary said that Prime Minister Suga is ‘struggling’ in his foreign policy and ‘the only greatest achievement of him is the installation of support for the Tokyo Olympics at the G-7 summit.’ It warned that in a post-COVID-19 era if the world becomes divided then ‘the foundation of postwar Japan will be shaken.’

This was seconded by an article in a Hong Kong-based penshark outlet on 19 June which attacked leaders of Japan and Australia for ‘colluding quite frequently on China-related issues.’ The article lashed out at Japan for ‘inviting countries outside the region, including the US, France, and Australia, to participate in a joint military exercise to counter China’ on the South and the East China Sea issues. The article called the leaders of the two Quad nations as ‘attendants’ of Washington.  

It said that ‘while Japan can hardly look after itself, it is willing to go along with Australia in its dirty deeds. What are the intentions?’ Taking potshots on Tokyo’s foreign policy under Prime Minister Suga the article read ‘Japan’s desire to take Australia’s old path of  reaping benefits from China on the one hand and smearing China on the other and riding the coattail of the United States can only  further expose Tokyo’s awkward situation that it has no independent  foreign policy at all.’ In its concluding paragraph, the article issued a caution by saying ‘Australia has already tasted the bitter fruits of provoking China. As for Japan, can it count on the United States to help resolve its three major domestic difficulties? The distorted mentality of Japan and Australia toward China is outmoded. Japan and Australia must seriously think about how to face a fast-developing China.’

Experts Examine

Sharing her insights on the spree of media attacks on Japanese leadership and policies by China, Dr. Amrita Jash, Research Fellow at Centre for Land Warfare Studies observed that Beijing’s indirect threats to Tokyo under the current circumstances as cited are not an exception.

“When things do not serve Beijing’s ‘self’ interests, it tries to arm-twist the ‘other’ to give in to China’s demands. However, China forgets that the other, here Japan, too is a sovereign country and has the right to exercise the foreign policy of its own free will,” Dr. Jash said. On the aspect of Japan attempting to ‘decouple’ from China, she remarked that Tokyo is not carrying out decoupling rather it is acting pragmatically in its national interest.

“China’s rise is a recent phenomenon, Japan is an old player in the great power politics. Anti-China sentiment in Japan is not a recent trend and the US will always be Japan’s strongest ally, so, to see Japan’s proactive diplomatic stance in the light of these developments will be an error,” she said while stressing that the best way to define Japan-China ties is that of ‘Hot Economics, Cold Politics.’

“The economic ties have always flourished despite irreconcilable differences over history issues, Yasukuni Shrine, and the East China Sea dispute. This makes Japan-China ties an interesting case that swings between the poles of vestiges of the past and economic interdependency,” she added.

Speaking to TheNews21, Shamshad Khan, visiting associate fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies said that it was Japan’s aggressive diplomatic campaigns vis-a-vis China over regional security issues and Taiwan at the bilateral and multilateral forums have drawn criticism from Beijing.

“It is quite natural as Beijing considers some of these issues as its internal matters. As it has become a norm to criticize China by the US and its Asian allies, Beijing has made it a routine to register its reactions and at times its reactions are added with a tone of anger,” Khan said.

However, according to the foreign affairs expert, it was Japan’s recognition of Taiwan as a country that inadvertently provoked China and drew a harsh reaction. “We must note that Taiwan was termed as a ‘country’ by Suga, it was while naming the countries which have imposed strong curbs on individual rights during COVID-19. It was not necessary for China to make a fuss over it. It may have gone largely unnoticed had China not made strong reactions over it. Japan continues to maintain that its policies vis-a-vis Taiwan remain unchanged,” he directed.

Khan also cited that when it comes to politics, diplomacy, international issues and issues of human rights, Japan’s foreign policy has always been aligned with the west.

“Suga is not an exception. At the same time, its economic interests have been aligned with China. There had been some disruption following the nationalization of Senkakus Islands by Japan and very recently after COVID-19 lockdown in China but given the huge investment, the Japanese companies have made there, geographical proximity and huge consumer base in Beijing, the neighboring country will remain a most favored destination for Tokyo companies in the coming few decades,” Khan reasoned.

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