Beijing yesterday made a second call for an apology and compensation from Tokyo over the “unlawful” detention of a Chinese trawlerman, demanding “practical steps” to resolve the diplomatic row.
Japan had rejected an initial demand earlier yesterday, with foreign ministry spokesman Satoru Sato saying Beijing’s demand was “totally groundless” and “cannot be accepted at all”.
“China of course has the right to demand an apology and compensation from Japan,” spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in the Chinese foreign ministry’s second statement yesterday as the row rumbled on despite the captain’s release.
“We hope Japan takes practical steps to enrich China and Japan’s strategic and mutually beneficial relationship.”
The ministry, which had earlier described the man’s arrest as “unlawful and invalid”, reiterated that the disputed islands at the centre of the spat between the Asian giants “have been part of Chinese territory since ancient times”.
Japanese prosecutors cited the deepening rift between Beijing and Tokyo in their decision last Friday to release the skipper, who was arrested after his boat collided with two Japanese coastguard vessels in the East China Sea.
The Japanese government faces accusations at home that it caved in to bullying by China in deciding to release the captain, Zhan Qixiong, who arrived home yesterday morning.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said there had been no political interference in prosecutors’ move to free him.
“In any case, China and Japan are important neighbours,” Kan said.
Chinese state television showed Zhan, 41, receiving a hero’s welcome after a government-chartered plane sent to fetch him touched down at Fuzhou, capital of the southeastern province of Fujian, in the early hours of yesterday.
Making victory signs with his fingers and clutching a bunch of flowers, a smiling Zhan was greeted by his wife, son and government officials.
“I am thankful to the party, the government and my fellow citizens for my peaceful return,” Zhan told reporters.
“My detention by Japan was illegal. The Diaoyu Islands are part of Chinese territory. I firmly support the Chinese government’s position.”
The row started when Japan’s coastguard arrested the captain on September 8 after his trawler collided with two of their patrol boats near a disputed island chain, called Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China.
In the ensuing spat, China issued a series of harsh diplomatic protests, summoned Japan‘s ambassador Uichiro Niwa six times, once after midnight, and cancelled official visits, energy talks and joint cultural events.
On September 13 Japan released the ship’s 14 Chinese crew, but on the same day Beijing protestedover the skipper’s continued detention.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao this week weighed in and threatened “further actions” as Japanese traders reported China had blocked exports of rare earth metals, used in products from iPods to electric cars, a claim Beijing denied.
Further ramping up tensions, China this week detained four Japanese nationals who were working on a bid for a project to clear up chemical weapons left from the Japanese occupation before and during World War II.
Japanese officials met with the four workers yesterday at a hotel in Shijiazhuang in the northern province of Hebei, a spokesman for the embassy in Beijing told AFP, without providing further details.
Chinese state media warned yesterday that the dispute – the worst in years between the two Asian giants – had caused “long-lasting” damage to delicate Sino-Japanese relations.
Analysts said the trawler captain’s release was seen as boosting China’s communist leaders at home, where the case sparked strong nationalist sentiment among a domestic audience still sensitive about Japan’s past militarism.