Vice President Joe Biden
and China President Xi Jinping: The pair spent
an unprecedented 5
hours in private talks over China's newly-asserted
Air Defense
Identification Zone, which encroaches on what Japan sees
as its territory, and no
doubt many other issues.
'Facts' for Biden on Who is Responsible for Tensions (China Daily,
China)
Is Japan responsible for the rise of tensions in the South China
Sea - and is America taking Tokyo's side? This editorial from the state-run
China Daily offers some 'facts' about the dispute to Vice President Joe Biden,
now on the ground in Beijing to avoid 'miscalculation' over China's newly-asserted
Air Defense Identification Zone. Up until last week, the zone was internationally-considered Japanese.
In
Tokyo on Tuesday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was correct when he said the
East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone, "underscores the need for
crisis management mechanisms" because, as he pointed out, it raises "regional
tensions and [has] increased the risk of accidents and miscalculation."
So
Biden has plenty of things to straighten out while in Beijing, on the second
leg of his three-country Asia tour.
First
of all, despite trying to present itself as an impartial mediator, Washington
has obviously taken Japan's side. By turning a blind eye to Tokyo's
provocations, the root cause of the tensions, the United States has wrongly
pointed an accusing finger at China for "unilaterally" changing the
"status quo" in the East China Sea.
With
his diplomatic record, Biden is believed to be Washington's best bet as a diffuser
of crisis, but he should not expect substantial headway if he is here simply to
repeat his government's erroneous, one-sided remarks.
He
should listen carefully to the Chinese side of the story, and our leaders
should make sure that their American guest leaves Beijing better informed about
the causality of the East China Sea dispute.
Again,
our timely visitor must be told: It is Japan that has unilaterally changed the
status quo. From its regular patrols of the Diaoyu
Islands to the establishment of its new ADIZ, China
is simply responding to Japanese provocations.
If
the U.S. is truly committed to lessening regional tensions, it must first stop
acquiescing to Tokyo's dangerous brinkmanship. It must stop emboldening
belligerent Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to
constantly push the envelope of Japan's encroachments and provocations.
Most
important of all, Biden needs to be reminded that Japan holds the key to
peacefully solving the East China Sea dispute, because it is the Abe Administration's
recalcitrant denial of the existence of a dispute that has prevented Beijing
and Tokyo from conducting meaningful communications and crisis control. From
the very beginning, Beijing has demonstrated a consistent preference for
shelving differences.
Contrary
to Japanese and American allegations, our ADIZ was
actually intended to reduce miscalculation and avoid potential conflict, and
so-called threats to civilian aircraft is just crazy hyperbole from Abe aimed
at deflecting blame.
Instead
of echoing Japan's illicit request that we rescind the ADIZ,
Biden should try to enlighten Japan that the area could actually become what
our Defense Ministry envisages: "a zone of cooperation, not confrontation."
