Xi Makes First Remarks on Ryukyus, Mentioning China’s ‘Deep Exchange’ with Okinawa
16:49 JST, June 11, 2023
BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month referred to exchanges between China and Ryukyu (Okinawa), in the context of the Senkaku Islands of Okinawa Prefecture.
Hong Kong newspaper Sing Tao Daily wrote on June 8 that the remarks, first published on the front page of the official People’s Daily on June 4, were the first that Xi has publicly made on the Ryukyu Islands since he took office.
Some observers reckon that this was an attempt by the Chinese government to put pressure on Japan as Tokyo intensifies its involvement in the Taiwan issue, which Beijing calls an internal matter.
According to the People’s Daily, during his visit to the national archives earlier this month, Xi was briefed on the Diaoyu Islands (the Chinese name for the Senkaku Islands) in the Ming dynasty. Xi then reportedly said that when he was working in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, he learned that the roots of exchanges with the Ryukyu Islands were deep.
When hard-line arguments against Japan were growing in China in May 2013, triggered by the Japanese government’s nationalization of the Senkakus in the previous year, the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, published articles by academics claiming that the status of Okinawa was “unresolved” and suggesting that China had territorial claims over the islands.
Although the latest article does not refer to the possession of Okinawa, one Chinese media source pointed out that it can be seen as a warning that if Japan increases its involvement in the Taiwan issue, which China claims as its own domestic affair, Beijing may bring up the Okinawa question again.
"Politics" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
China Firm ‘Developed System to Manipulate Public Opinion’; Leaked Information Describes Hijacking Social Media Accounts (UPDATE 1)
-
Japan, U.S., S. Korea Coast Guards Sign Pledge to Strengthen Cooperation
-
North Korea Announces ‘Satellite’ Launch Sometime Between May 27 and June 4; Japan Calls for Suspension of Launch
-
Japan Considering Bid to Join Australia’s Frigate Project; Boost to Domestic Defense Industry Expected
-
Maritime Self-Defense Force, Japan Coast Guard to Jointly Assist Marshall Islands’ coast guard authorities; Aims for ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’
JN ACCESS RANKING
- BOJ Policymakers Suggested Reducing JGB Purchases at April Meeting
- Japan’s Current Account Surplus Hits Record ¥25 Tril in Fiscal 2023
- Half of New NISA Investments Went to Japanese Stocks
- Japan Household Spending Down 3.2 % in FY 2023
- IMF Projects Japan’s GDP to Fall to World’s 5th After India in 2025; Japan’s Economy Continues Decline