At the just concluded G20 summit in Turkey, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe mentioned China's maritime disputes in the East China Sea and South China Sea in bilateral talks with other leaders. Abe asked China to "demilitarize" the South China Sea at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, too. That is not a smart diplomatic habit, says an article on : [Special coverage]
It is a natural move for national leaders to express their concerns on international diplomatic occasions, and China has called for defense of the postwar world order several times. But Abe is crossing the line, because he is intervening in other nations' affairs even though Japan is not involved in the South China Sea maritime disputes.
A look at the past years will show that Abe has long been tirelessly stirring up trouble over the South China Sea disputes, where Japan is an outsider. He mentioned the South China Sea at the 2014 Shangri-la Dialogue, and talked about it again at the meetings of Association of Southeast Asian Nations defense ministers and foreign ministers this year.
At the just-concluded G20 summit, Abe even expressed his support for the United States sending warships to within 12 nautical miles of China's isles when he met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. It seems he is obsessed with demonizing China.
Abe has allies encouraging his trouble-making. The leaders of the Philippines have echoed Abe on several occasions. The White House also said earlier that President Barack Obama will have a chance to discuss the importance of free navigation in the South China Sea at the APEC summit. The U.S., Philippines, and Japan have been taking turns in blaming China for the maritime disputes.
What should China do?
Most of the time, Abe can be just left in the cold. He and his colleagues are good at using their tongue but they do not deserve much attention when speaking about the situation in the South China Sea. Only when Abe utters improper words, can China make some firm responses.
It should be noted that not many nations approve of Abe's meddling. Maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea are between China and its neighbors and most outsiders want to avoid taking sides. The G20 communiqué, for instance, does not mention a word about the South China Sea.
Most importantly, China should stand firm on its approach to resolving the disputes. China has proposed a dual-track policy regarding the maritime disputes, namely the parties involved in the disputes should solve the disputes through direct talks, while peace and stability in the South China Sea should be maintained jointly. That's a sensible and workable approach and China needs to persist with it.
