Diaoyu impasse calls for new ideas(6)

Experts' Views

Tong Zeng, president of the Chinese Civilian Association for Safeguarding the Diaoyu Islands

In my 16 years' work of safeguarding the Diaoyu Islands, the attitude of our government has changed. Its stance has shifted from "shelving bilateral disputes and seeking common development" in the 1980s to the current "keeping the disputes open."

Hong Kong activists' action this time is related to the adjustment of the national policy.

Mo Shijian, dean of faculty of law at University of Macao

Civilian activities asserting sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands deserve support from the government. We are interpreting the law in our daily activities. The problem hasn't been resolved. In 50 years, it will be the same as if nothing active is being done.

Dai Xu, professor and Colonel at China National Defense University

This victory in defending our Diaoyu Islands can be a good opportunity for us to build up our authority over the East China Sea.

We can launch a full-scale media war against the Japanese, for instance, and one of the key issues our media should press the Japanese side on is the independence of the Ryukyu Islands.

We can also accuse the US along the way of violating international legal principles for unilaterally handing the Ryukyu Islands over to the Japanese.

Zheng Ming, a retired rear admiral of the PLA Navy

Chinese navy is relatively weak. We have a long coastal line to manage, and our fishery administration vessels and maritime surveillance ships often have to deal with the issues of the Diaoyu Islands and the Nansha Islands one after another.

When our navy pays visits to other countries, we always send out the same ship. Some in the navy thought this might be inappropriate, so they decided to change the ship's name. But people from other countries could still recognize it.

Chu Shulong, deputy director of the Institute of International Strategic and Development Studies at Tsinghua University

We don't intend to make Japan submit to China's power, but just to make it less provocative. If we really want Japan to behave itself, we should recover the strength we had before the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912).