Monday 20 September 2010

CHINA AND JAPAN: DISPUTES

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BOAT COLLISION SPARKS ANGER, BREAKDOWN IN CHINA-JAPAN TALKS

William Wan

The Washington Post, September 20, 2010

BEIJING - The Chinese government suspended high-level exchanges with Japan on Sunday after weeks of heated arguments between the two countries, triggered when a Chinese fishing boat collided with Japanese Coast Guard ships in disputed waters.

The diplomatic wrangling is over custody of the Chinese boat captain, who is under arrest in Japan. But fueling the abundance of strong posturing is a struggle between China and Japan for regional dominance as well as long-standing disputes over territory.

And the angry rhetoric, which has come more from the Chinese side than the Japanese side, is the latest indication that a newly assertive China is looking to flex its muscles on an international stage.

Since the boat collision, several other disputes have flared up, ranging from serious (threats on both sides to start drilling for gas in the East China Sea) to bizarre (Chinese investigators were sent to look into the death of a Chinese panda at a Japanese zoo).

(...) [artículo aquí]

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