China shouldn't stir up anti-Japanese sentiment

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 17, 2010)
China shouldn't stir up anti-Japanese sentiment
尖閣沖漁船衝突　中国は「反日」沈静化に努めよ（9月16日付・読売社説）

China has taken a strikingly hard line over Japan's handling of the recent collisions of a Chinese fishing trawler with two Japan Coast Guard patrol vessels off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
　尖閣諸島沖の中国漁船衝突事件で、中国の強硬姿勢が目立っている。

China has protested five times to Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa over the arrest of the trawler's captain. China also unilaterally canceled talks on a pact covering joint gas field development in the East China Sea and a scheduled visit to Japan by Li Jianguo, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
　中国人船長の逮捕に対し、丹羽宇一郎駐中国大使への中国側の抗議は５度にわたった。東シナ海のガス田共同開発に向けた条約交渉や、全国人民代表大会副委員長の訪日も一方的にとりやめた。

In particular, the summons of Niwa by Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo, a deputy prime minister-level official, in the middle of the night on a holiday flies in the face of diplomatic protocol.
　特に、副首相級の戴秉国国務委員が休日の未明に大使を呼び出したのは、外交儀礼的に問題のある対応だ。

China's postponement of the gas field talks, which has no direct link with the ship collisions, is an overreaction. We strongly urge China to exercise self-restraint.
事件と直接関係のないガス田交渉まで絡めることも行き過ぎである。中国には自制した対応を強く求めたい。

Japan in the right

The collisions occurred in Japanese waters off the Senkaku Islands, which are inherently Japanese. It is quite reasonable for Japan to deal with illegal activities in these waters in accordance with domestic law.
　事件が起きた海域は、日本固有の領土である尖閣諸島沖の日本領海内だ。違法行為を日本の国内法で裁くのは当然である。

China is mistaken if it thinks Japan will buckle to China's demands if it plays hardball.
　中国が、強い態度に出れば日本側が折れてくると考えているのなら、それは誤りだ。

Since the 1970s, China has claimed the Senkaku Islands belong to China. It has instilled this belief among its people through "anti-Japanese patriotism" education since the 1990s.
　中国は、１９７０年代から尖閣諸島を中国の領土だと主張し、それを９０年代からの「反日・愛国」教育で国民に浸透させてきた。

If Chinese people get the impression that their government is "weak-kneed," it could ignite simmering public discontent over the country's economic disparities and other ills, which could escalate into anger directed at the Chinese Communist Party leadership.
　尖閣問題で「政府は弱腰」との印象を与えれば、国内経済格差などへの不平や不満に“引火”し、中国国民の矛先が共産党指導部に向けられかねない――。

This fear has apparently driven the Chinese government to take a high-handed stance toward Japan over the collisions. But we think Beijing is barking up the wrong tree.
　そんな懸念もあって、中国政府は今回、日本に高圧的な態度をとっているのだろう。だが、それは明らかに筋が違う話だ。

Online bulletin boards in China have been increasingly used to post extreme messages encouraging retaliatory attacks on Japan. Japanese living in China have been harassed, and small metallic balls were fired at a Japanese school building in Tianjin.
　インターネット上では、日本への報復攻撃を促すなど過激な書き込みが増えている。天津市の日本人学校では、パチンコ玉状の金属球が撃ち込まれるなど、在留邦人への嫌がらせも起き始めた。

Level heads needed

The Japanese government on Monday sent members of the fishing boat crew, except for the captain, back to China, together with the vessel.
　日本政府は１３日、船長以外の船員を帰国させ、漁船も返した。

We hoped China would applaud this attempt by the Japanese government to take some of the sting out of the situation. However, China has proclaimed the crew and vessel were returned "due to the united action taken by the Chinese government and its people." Beijing has used Japan's gesture to earn brownie points with the public.
そうした抑制的な対応を評価するならともかく、中国は「政府と国民の一体行動の成果」と喧伝(けんでん)し、国内世論対策に利用している。

This will only inflame "anti-Japanese" sentiment among Chinese people. We urge the Chinese government to defuse such sentiment and prevent a recurrence of the 2005 "anti-Japanese riots."
　これでは、「反日」世論は過熱するばかりだ。中国は、２００５年の「反日」暴動を再来させることのないよう、国内世論の沈静化に努めるべきだ。

We also hope the Japanese side will continue to keep a level head. That being said, the government must not hesitate to refute inaccurate Chinese media reports, such as the claim that JCG patrol vessels "crashed into the fishing boat from behind."
　日本側は冷静な対応に徹してほしい。ただ、海上保安庁の巡視船が「漁船に追突した」と、中国メディアが事実を曲げて報じていることには反論する必要がある。

The JCG videotaped the fishing boat intentionally colliding with two patrol vessels. However, the JCG has not released the tapes because it might need to submit them as evidence in court should the incident become a criminal case.
　海保は、漁船が故意に衝突させた場面をビデオ撮影している。刑事裁判になれば証拠資料として提出する可能性があるため、公表を控えている。

If it becomes apparent that the captain was at fault, it may soothe public anger in China. Perhaps making the videotape public would be one way to achieve this.
　だが、船長に非があることが明白になれば、中国国内世論を落ち着かせるのに役立とう。ビデオを公開するのも一案ではないか。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 16, 2010)
（2010年9月16日01時27分 読売新聞）