By: Sauro Dasgupta
The appointment of Fumio Kishida as Japanese PM dents the hope of any peace agreement between Japan and China.
Under Shinzo Abe in 2018, Japan and China held security talks after a four year hiatus because of territorial issues, in a meeting expected to touch on the issue of managing the maritime crisis. The talks involved talks between the foreign and defence ministries. The mutual relation soured in 2012 when the Japanese government angered China by nationalizing some of the islands, and Beijing had refused to hold talks with Tokyo as ships and aeroplanes from both sides regularly sparred in the East China Sea.
But the two sides broke the ice in November 2014 when the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Chinese President Xi Jinping had a handshake on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.It was hoped that the talks will help Beijing develop ties with Tokyo taking history a mirror and looking forward to the future
But the ruling party of Japan did nothing to warm Relations with China. Abe government and later relations with China fell to such an extent that Japan also joined the QUAD against China. Japan started remilitarizing itself with US help.
As Chinese incursions continue in the South China Sea, Japan needs to be on its guard. The Chinese will never let go off its foes easily. Japan should now side with Taiwan and the West in an imminent conflict against China. PM Kishida must now be on the guard against China. He must reach out to world leaders and offer cooperation in all areas. He should take allies into consideration and proceed.
(The writer is PG 1, Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University, Kolkata.)
