China calls for stable Japan relations after Ishiba election victory

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — 

China has urged Japan to support a "healthy and stable" narration with Beijing aft erstwhile Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's enactment contention Friday.

Ishiba is acceptable to go Japan’s adjacent premier curate erstwhile Japanese lawmakers convene connected October 1.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters Friday that the "sustained, dependable and steady" improvement of China-Japan relations is successful some countries’ interests, characterizing the way arsenic "the lone close choice."

China, helium said, hopes Japan volition "have an nonsubjective and close cognition of China, instrumentality an progressive and rational China policy, instrumentality factual efforts to comprehensively beforehand the strategical narration of communal benefit, and enactment with China to beforehand the sustained, dependable and dependable development" of bilateral relations.

Beijing’s remarks travel amid rising hostility betwixt China and Japan. China has accrued the frequence of its subject activities successful waters and airspace adjacent Japan successful caller weeks, sailing its craft bearer Liaoning done the "contiguous zone" adjacent Japan’s westernmost land of Yonaguni connected September 18 and conducting large-scale subject exercises adjacent the Sea of Japan.

Meanwhile, a Japanese battleship sailed done the Taiwan Strait for the archetypal clip Wednesday, prompting Beijing to reiterate its beardown absorption to specified "freedom of navigation" operations.

Japan besides expressed interest aft China test-fired an intercontinental ballistic rocket into the Pacific Ocean for the archetypal clip successful 40 years Wednesday. The Japanese authorities said Beijing did not notify it earlier the rocket trial and described China’s expanding subject enactment successful the portion arsenic "a superior concern."

Analysts accidental the Chinese Foreign Ministry connection shows Beijing remains cautious astir Ishiba’s stance connected relations with China.

"Beijing is precise cautious and acrophobic astir Ishiba’s stance due to the fact that helium has been precise assertive and hardline astir Japan’s information policy," Kyoko Hatakeyama, an planetary relations prof astatine the University of Niigata Prefecture, said successful a telephone interrogation with VOA.

Before Friday’s enactment election, Ishiba projected the instauration of an "Asian NATO," which helium said could pave the mode for a nuclear-sharing statement among like-minded countries oregon a instrumentality of U.S. atomic tactical weapons to the Indo-Pacific region.

During a unrecorded statement held by Japan’s Fuji News Network connected September 22, Ishiba said it is clip to let Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to occurrence informing shots astatine overseas forces intruding Japan’s territorial airspaces and waters.

Hatakeyama said Ishiba would apt proceed to deepen Japan’s defence and information narration with like-minded democracies, including the United States, South Korea, Australia, and the Philippines.

Unlike outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, she said, Ishiba wants Japan to person much autonomy successful shaping its information policies.

"He thinks it’s not bully for Japan to travel Washington’s pb and helium believes Japan should go much autarkic successful moving with different like-minded countries successful the region," Hatakeyama told VOA by phone.

Some Chinese analysts accidental Beijing should support an oculus connected Ishiba’s policies toward China, based connected his erstwhile remarks and proposals.

"China needs to enactment alert to Ishiba arsenic helium reportedly had called for instauration of an 'Asian NATO' by combining the U.S.-Japan confederation and U.S.-South Korea alliance," Da Zhigang, manager of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies astatine China’s Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told China’s state-run tabloid Global Times.

Xiang Haoyu, a probe chap astatine the China Institute of International Studies, told Global Times helium expects Japan to support utilizing "the Taiwan question" and its alignment with the U.S. to "contain China."

While Ishiba volition apt uphold Japan’s existent defence and information policies, immoderate experts accidental helium whitethorn besides question to set Tokyo’s wide policies toward China.

"In his precocious released book, Ishiba said immoderate members of the Japanese authorities play up the thought of the China menace and the request for much subject without truly explaining them to the Japanese people," Jeffrey Hall, an adept connected Japan studies astatine Kanda University of International Studies.

He said portion Ishiba has highlighted the request for Japan to support deterrence against China, the incoming Japanese premier curate volition effort to enactment little accent connected threats by China to assistance Japan debar "a information dilemma."

"He has galore large ideas astir it, but successful the adjacent year, helium volition proceed overseas argumentation arsenic it was nether Kishida," Hall told VOA successful a video interview.

While Ishiba whitethorn question to set Japan’s policies toward China, Hall said helium volition besides proceed Tokyo’s attack of maintaining adjacent relations with Taiwan, arsenic it did nether Kishida and deceased erstwhile premier curate Shinzo Abe.

"Ishiba’s sojourn to Taiwan successful August was strategically timed due to the fact that helium wanted to amusement conservatives successful Japan that helium would basal with Taiwan if helium becomes premier minister," helium told VOA, adding that Ishiba volition not sacrifice committedness to Taiwan for the involvement of friendlier relations with China.

Despite the heightened hostility betwixt Japan and China, caused chiefly by Beijing’s subject actions and the decease of a 10-year-old Japanese lad successful the Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen, Hatakeyama said Tokyo and Beijing volition some effort to play a balancing enactment successful managing bilateral relations successful the adjacent future.

"China has precocious agreed to gradually resume imports of Japanese seafood and Japan’s Cabinet Office didn’t state the Japanese warship’s transition done the Taiwan Strait, which signals that Tokyo and Beijing some privation to forestall bilateral tensions from further escalating," she told VOA.