CHINA: Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto expresses concern and need for negotiation in issue of disputed East China Sea

Record ID: 465425

  • Title: CHINA: Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto expresses concern and need for negotiation in issue of disputed East China Sea
  • Date: 5th July 2011
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (JULY 4, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF GREAT HALL OF PEOPLE JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER TAKEAKI MATSUMOTO WALKING TO SHAKE HANDS WITH CHINESE VICE PRESIDENT XI JINPING XI STANDING HANDS SHAKING JAPANESE AND CHINESE DELEGATIONS SITTING IN MEETING ROOM XI SPEAKING MATSUMOTO LISTENING MATSUMOTO AND XI SITTING JAPANESE DELEGATION MATSUMOTO NODDING AND SPEAKING XI LISTENING CHINESE AND JAPANESE DELEGATIONS SITTING IN ROOM NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) HIDENOBU SOBASHIMA, JAPANESE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY, SAYING: "Senkaku Islands is historically and also in terms of its international role, is an integral part of Japan, and there is no territory issue to be resolved. This is the Japanese position, and the Chinese foreign minister mentioned the Chinese position." SOBASHIMA'S PICTURE IN VIDEO FRAME (SOUNDBITE) (English) HIDENOBU SOBASHIMA, JAPANESE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY, SAYING: "The Japanese side has a strong interest in the activities by China in the seas. I (Takeaki Matsumoto) said that the two countries should promote a cooperation in terms of negotiation of legally binding instruments for resources exploration in East China Sea." NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY
  • Embargoed: 20th July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China, China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAEYR3VMJ1URZ9A33HW1MDMZMYP
  • Story Text: Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto stressed the need for negotiation in the issue of the disputed East China Sea on his first official visit to China.
    Foreign Minister Matsumoto met with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Monday (July 4), amidst a round of talks about the intense but often icy ties between Asia's top two economies, which face persistent friction over sea disputes and historical distrust.
    China and Japan have bickered for years over a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, which are also claimed by Taiwan.
    In a press conference, Japanese Deputy Press Secretary Hidenobu Sobashima, said that Matsumoto addressed the issue in talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, but maintained that islands were Japanese territory.
    "Senkaku Islands is historically and also in terms of its international role, is an integral part of Japan, and there is no territory issue to be resolved. This is the Japanese position and the Chinese foreign minister mentioned the Chinese position," he said.
    Activists from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong periodically visit the seas around the islands and even the islands themselves to promote sovereignty claims.
    In September 2010, Japan detained a Chinese trawler captain after his boat collided with Japanese coastguard ships near the islands. In protest, Beijing cancelled diplomatic meetings with Tokyo until he was released.
    The two countries are also at odds over China's exploration for natural gas in the same seas. In 2008 they agreed to resolve the feud by jointly developing gas fields.
    In talks with Foreign Minister Yang , Matsumoto said the two sides should seek to make progress towards a legally binding agreement to defuse the dispute.
    "The Japanese side has a strong interest in the activities by China in the seas. I (Takeaki Matsumoto) said that the two countries should promote a cooperation in terms of negotiation of legally binding instruments for resources exploration in East China Sea," Sobashima paraphrased Matsumoto as saying earlier to Japanese reporters.
    Sobashima did not specify which of China's sea activities concern Japan, but Tokyo has repeatedly voiced concern about China's growing naval reach In June, Japanese foreign minister Matsumoto joined the United States in ramping up pressure on China, accusing Beijing of creating tension in the region with its naval activities in the South China Sea.
    Despite the tensions, Sobashima expressed confidence that negotiations over the seas would resume soon, citing a promising atmosphere following a rise in mutual goodwill after Japan's calamitous earthquake and tsunami in March.
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