習近平會見山口那津男
JANE PERLEZ 報道 2013年01月26日
China Daily/Reuters
中共中央總書記習近平（右）周五在北京人民大會堂會見日本公明黨黨首山口那津男。
北京——中國新任領導人習近平在周五會見一名日本資深政客時表示出和解的姿態，這是緩解兩國因東海島嶼爭端而不斷升級的緊張局勢的一個明顯努力。
據中國外交部提供的消息，習近平對日本議員山口那津男(Natsuo Yamaguchi)表示，“中國政府重視發展中日關係的方針沒有變化”，這是自去年11月成為執政的中國共產黨總書記以來，習近平首次發表的一些關於中國外交政策的言論。
外交部稱，習近平敦促雙方“着眼大局”，“推動中日關係發展”。與自四個月前的島嶼爭端爆發以來軍事官員和官方媒體所使用的鼓動戰爭的語言相比，習近平的措辭明顯更為克制。
習近平在人民大會堂與山口那津男會面，這之前的幾個月里，中國和日本幾乎每天都向東海海域派出海監船。最近，中日兩國戰鬥機也曾在東海緊急升空，華盛頓方面認為這是雙方島嶼爭端的危險升級。中國稱這些爭議島嶼為釣魚島，而日本稱之為尖閣諸島。
據日本媒體報道，周五會面時，日本新任聯合政府中少數黨黨首山口那津男還向習近平轉交了日本首相安倍晉三的親筆信，在信中，安倍晉三敦促中日雙方開展高層對話。
在會後發表的一份聲明中，山口那津男也表達了緩和的態度。他說，“我們想要改善未來雙方的關係。我們認為，習近平願意認真考慮開展高層對話，也反應出他想改善雙方關係的願望。”
以山口那津男為首的公明黨和中國有着長久的聯繫，中國一般來說看好該黨。在日本的政治環境下，公明黨被認為比較親中國，其選民基礎來自於一個佛教團體。
兩國國內不斷增長的民族主義情緒使緊張關係加劇，緊張關係可追溯至中日衝突的長久歷史，以及第二次世界大戰(World War II)期間日本佔領中國的痛苦記憶。
貝拉克·奧巴馬(Barack Obama)政府擔心海上或空中的衝突可能導致中日直接交鋒，已呼籲雙方保持冷靜。同時，華盛頓方面也明確表示，日美共同防禦條約也包括爭議島嶼受到襲擊的情況，這可能會導致美國採取軍事行動。
習近平異乎尋常地回首往事，提到了中日邦交正常化之初的1972年，他說，“我們要像兩國老一輩領導人那樣，體現出國家責任、政治智慧和歷史擔當，推動中日關係克服困難，繼續向前發展。”
很明顯，習近平指的是1972年中日關係的里程碑事件，當時，在和日本首相田中角榮(Kakuei Tanaka)會談後，總理周恩來表示，兩國應擱置釣魚島爭端，留到日後解決。日本則一直表示，從未同意過周恩來的提議。
的確，日本堅稱，沒有必要對這些無人島嶼的主權歸屬進行談判，因為在日方看來，它們屬於日本。1972年，作為將沖繩從美國管理下歸還日本的協議的一部分，這些島嶼被歸還給日本。
關於這些島嶼的爭端是安倍晉三競選活動的主題之一，他承諾，絕不會對中國一點點削弱日本對這些島嶼的主權而坐視不管。
周五中日之間的和解語氣並不一定預示着雙方的爭端將立即得到緩解。相反，它似乎與最近中國外交官發出的需要妥善管理島嶼爭端的言論相一致，這一立場與中國軍事專家及官方媒體向日本發出的密集性挑釁言論形成對比。
過去的一周內，中國在聯合國繼續發出對這些島嶼擁有主權的主張。在向大陸架界限委員會(U.N. Commission on the
Limits of the Continental
Shelf)提交的劃界案中，中方提出理由稱，根據這些島嶼和中國大陸之間大陸架的地質構成，這些島嶼屬於中國。
大陸架委員會表示將考慮有關此提案的問題。而日本政府則向聯合國表示，應拒絕考慮該提案。
翻譯：谷菁璐
Chinese Leader Takes Conciliatory Tone in Meeting With Japanese Politician
JANE PERLEZ January 26, 2013
BEIJINGChina’s new leader, Xi Jinping, offered Japan a conciliatory
tone during a meeting with a senior Japanese politician on Friday, an
apparent effort to reduce the escalating tensions between the two
countries over islands in the East China Sea.
In some of his first remarks on China’s foreign policy since becoming
secretary general of the ruling Communist Party last November, Mr. Xi
told the Japanese lawmaker, Natsuo Yamaguchi, that ‘‘the Chinese
government remains committed to China-Japan relations,’’ according to an
account provided by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Mr. Xi urged both sides to ‘‘look at the larger picture’’ and ‘‘push
relations forward,’’ the Foreign Ministry said, language markedly more
restrained than the combative exhortations from military officials and
the state news media since the dispute over the islands erupted four
months ago.
The encounter between Mr. Xi and Mr. Yamaguchi, in the Great Hall of
the People, came after China and Japan had sent surveillance ships to
the East China Sea on an almost daily basis in the last several months.
Recently, both sides have scrambled fighter jets in what Washington
considered a dangerous escalation of the dispute over islands known as
the Diaoyu in China and the Senkaku in Japan.
In their meeting Friday, Mr. Yamaguchi, the head of the junior party
in Japan’s new coalition government, delivered a letter to Mr. Xi from
the Japanes prime minister, Shinzo Abe, that urged high-level talks
between Tokyo and Beijing, the Japanese news media reported.
In a statement after the meeting, Mr. Yamaguchi also expressed
moderation. ‘‘We would like to improve our future relations,’’ he said.
‘‘We believe Mr. Xi’s intent to seriously consider high-level talks
reflects his desire for improved relations.’’
The New Komeito Party headed by Mr. Yamaguchi has had longstanding
ties with China and is generally looked upon favorably in China. In the
Japanese political context, the party is considered pro-China. Its
electoral base comes from a Buddhist organization.
Mounting nationalism in both countries has fanned tensions that hark
back to the long history of conflict between China and Japan and to
bitter memories from World War II, when Japan occupied China.
The administration of President Barack Obama, worried about a
collision in the sea or the air that could lead to confrontation, has
asked both sides to cool the situation. At the same time, Washington has
made clear that the mutual defense treaty between Japan and the United
States would cover an attack on the islands, which could lead to U.S.
military involvement.
In a striking backward glance to the opening of diplomatic relations
between China and Japan in 1972, Mr. Xi said that ‘‘like the older
generation of leaders, we should show a sense of national and historical
responsibility and political wisdom, overcome the difficulties in
bilateral relations and push relations forward.’’
Mr. Xi was clearly referring to the 1972 milestone in
Chinese-Japanese relations when Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, after talks
with his Japanese counterpart, Kakuei Tanaka, said that the two
countries should shelve the dispute on the islands for resolution at
another time. Japan has said it never agreed to Mr. Zhou’s proposal.
Indeed, Japan insists that there is no need for negotiations over the
sovereignty of the uninhabited islands because from Japan’s point of
view the islands belong to Japan. The islands were returned to Japan by
the United States in 1972 as part of the agreement that transferred
Okinawa to Japan from U.S. administration.
The dispute over the islands featured in the election campaign of Mr.
Abe, who vowed that he would not stand by as China chipped away at
Japan’s sovereignty over the islands.
The conciliatory tone Friday between China and Japan did not
necessarily presage an immediate thaw in the dispute. Instead, it
appeared to comport with recent remarks by Chinese diplomats that the
islands dispute needed to be managed, a stance contrasting with the
barrage of belligerent statements against Japan by Chinese military
experts and the state-run media.
China continued this past week to make claims to the islands at the
United Nations. In a submission to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of
the Continental Shelf, it argued that the islands belong to China based
on the geological composition of the continental shelf between them and
the Chinese mainland.
The U.N. commission said it would consider taking up the matter. The
Japanese government told the United Nations that the submission should
be rejected.
沒有留言:
張貼留言