Japan no way to evade Diaoyu Islands issue

On Aug. 30, Tang Jiaxuan, chairman of China-Japan Friendship Association and former state councilor, gave a speech on the international symposium marking the 40th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan relations, pointing out that the old and new issues between China and Japan have been intensified since 2012. Especially on the issue of Diaoyu Islands, Japan's negative responses had caused strong indignation among Chinese people and brought serious interference to the bilateral relations. If Japanese government insists on evading these problems and imposing its unilateral views on China, it will push itself into a "dead end," worsening and upgrading the issue and even making it out of control.

Tang pointed out that the root cause lies in that some forces in Japan do not want to see the smooth development of China-Japan relations, and they attempt to stir up opposition from the public through the issue of Diaoyu Islands and gain political capital. "If they succeeded, the issue of the Diaoyu Islands will be seriously out of control and lead to endless troubles in the future."

Tang stressed that China always insists on the consistent and unwavering position and proposition. The Diaoyu Islands and the affiliated islands have been China's territory since ancient times, which is irrefutable whether in history or in the legal principle. Any unilateral measures taken by Japan are illegal, invalid and in vain. They cannot change the fact that the sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands belongs to China and shake the will of Chinese people to safeguard their sovereign rights.

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