'Tokyo is encouraging Southeast Asian neighbors to confront China'
Japan's real purpose in helping improve Philippine naval forces is to get to use the latter's ports, a maritime expert said, even as Tokyo and the Philippines on Thursday urged China to observe the rule of law in resolving maritime disputes.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to Manila shows that Japan is encouraging the Philippine government to pursue the former administration's policy against China while spreading the misleading message that China has no intention to fix the souring relationship with Japan, experts said.
Kishida met his counterpart Perfecto Yasay in the southern Philippine city of Davao, where both pledged to work closely to boost maritime security while facing separate sea disputes with China, AFP reported.
Kishida is visiting the Philippines to strengthen "friendly ties." During the visit, both sides will discuss both the South and East China sea issues, and the possible sale of Japanese patrol ships to the Philippines, according to the Kyodo News Agency.
Japan appears to be trying to help the Philippines improve its naval forces, but its real purpose is to capitalize on these cooperation programs to use Philippine naval ports, Song Zhongping, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times.
Japan is offering the Philippines patrol ships and P-3C aircraft at a low price or even for free to enhance Manila's maritime defense, Song said.
Lü Yaodong, director of the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stressed that Japan is the most aggressive "trouble maker" by encouraging Southeast Asian countries to confront China, disrupting negotiations between Beijing and Manila, especially as former Philippine president Fidel Ramos meets with contacts from the Chinese side in Hong Kong.
The visit of Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou to Japan this month has been suspended due to China's displeasure over Japan's repeated protests against the presence of Chinese vessels around the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.
A Japanese government source said under such an intense situation, chances of a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at next month's G20 summit in Hangzhou are "collapsing," the Asahi Shimbun reported.
Lü explained that Japan is accusing China of showing no sincerity in maintaining sound bilateral ties, by claiming China is preventing its diplomats from communicating with Japan.
