Japan's meddling in South China Sea at wrong time, wrong place

BEIJING - Using multilateral platforms like the Group of Seven (G7) to meddle in the situation of the South China Sea, Japan has once again made an unwise move which came at a wrong place and a wrong time.

G7 foreign ministers compiled a document Wednesday on maritime security, renewing attention to the South China Sea by opposing "any attempt to press maritime or territorial claims through the use of intimidation, coercion or force."

The document is a result of the "consistent efforts and hard work" of the Japanese government, which is greatly interested in keeping this issue on the agenda in coming years to step up pressure on China over territorial issues in the South China Sea, to which none of the G7 members is a relevant party.

Japan's interference with the disputes in the South China Sea aims partly to divert China's attention and resources from the East China Sea, where China-Japan tension over the Diaoyu Islands has been rising.

The plan is also intended to draw away the increasing global attention from a statement by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II (WWII) as well as Japan's unapologetic stance on its wartime atrocities.

It is a shame that the Japanese government has used the G7 platform as a tool to serve its own selfish interests and purposes.

As a matter of fact, it is not the first time for Japan to take a political motive to persuade its Western allies into building up pressure on China under this multilateral framework. The country, which has seen a rise of right-wing forces, had also tried hard to sell an anti-China agenda in the run-up to and during the two-day G7 summit held in Brussels last June.

Japan's move, which would only stoke tensions and jeopardize regional stability, seems especially inappropriate and unwise at a time when China is strengthening efforts for solving maritime territorial disputes peacefully through friendly negotiations with countries concerned.

Great progress has been made in China's efforts to maintain positive and efficient communication with ASEAN members on the territorial issues.

On April 7-10, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nguyen Phu Trong paid an official visit to China, where he and Chinese leaders have reached important common understanding on some of their unsolved maritime disputes.

Through in-depth and friendly discussion, the two sides are making their relationship more healthy, stable and sustainable, agreeing that there is no dispute that can't be solved with such sincere and independent communication.

Moreover, as the Chinese Foreign Ministry has stressed repeatedly, the country's construction and maintenance works over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters falls entirely within its sovereignty, which neither affects nor targets any nation, and which threatens neither international shipping routes nor fisheries.

China is a staunch proponent of peace and stability in the South China Sea, and its construction works there are reasonable and lawful.

As the Chinese ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, said on Thursday, the strengthened capacity building by China in the South China Sea is only conducive to safeguarding safety, stability and free navigation in the region.