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Diplomacy
Tokyo Releases Chinese Crew, Not Captain
Monday, September 13, 2010
Dai Bingguo
Tokyo -- The Japanese government today released fourteen Chinese crew members that were intercepted by the Japan Coast Guard in waters near the Senkaku Islands on September 7th, but Captain Zhan Qixiong is still in custody awaiting possible formal charges of "obstructing official duties."
The Chinese government, meanwhile, has continued to signal its strong displeasure with Tokyo's handling of the affair.
In Beijing in the early morning hours of Sunday, State Councilor Dai Bingguo called in Japanese Ambassador Uichiro Niwa to reiterate China's demand that the entire crew, including the captain, be "immediately and unconditionally" released.
"Make a wise political resolution to the issue," the senior Chinese official urged.
Chinese government spokespeople have also indicated that they are suspending plans to hold bilateral talks on the joint development of natural gas deposits in the East China Sea.
In response, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku issued his own protest.
"It is regrettable that Ambassador Niwa was summoned at such a late hour," Sengoku said, "These are entirely separate issues. We will request that China reschedule the talks in order to establish forward-looking Japan-China relations."
The Japanese Foreign Ministry has been largely silent on this issue since the crisis erupted.
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