FORMER PM HATOYAMA CALLS FOR MORE TALKS
He accuses Tokyo of trying to ‘encircle’ China with US and says the two sides should seek to manage differences through regular dialogue
Former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama has called for more political dialogue between China and Japan and accused the current government in Tokyo of playing up ideological differences to “encircle” Beijing with the US.
Relations between Asia’s biggest economies, already complicated by wartime history and territorial disputes, were further strained after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida drew parallels between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s increasingly assertive behaviour in Asia.
But Hatoyama told the World Peace Forum, an event hosted by Tsinghua University in Beijing, that the Japanese government had escalated the confrontation between the two sides by playing up “differences and values”.
Japan has played an active role in several US-led multilateral mechanisms – including the Quad, a four-way informal security grouping that also includes Australia and India, as well as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework – the effect of which Hatoyama said was “the de facto encirclement of China”.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Tokyo, and Hatoyama yesterday said the US, Japan and
China should increase efforts to manage tensions, particularly over Taiwan, widely seen as a dangerous potential flashpoint.
He said Kishida’s comments about China were “totally different from reality” and urged both the US and Japan to reaffirm the one-China policy to avoid the tragedy of war over Taiwan.
“I believe between China and the US, especially between US President [Joe] Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, there should be good dialogue going on to assure a consensus on the oneChina policy – that is Taiwan is part of China’s territory, which should be reaffirmed,” he said.
Hatoyama, in office between 2009 and 2010, also called for more political dialogue between China and Japan.
“It is not surprising that two independent countries have differences, but to use this as a reason for not communicating between leaders, this is foolish and a dereliction of diplomacy.”
He said a mechanism could be established so the foreign ministers of Japan and China met every two or three months.
“Even meeting online would be good so that when the atmosphere improves, we can restart our military dialogues. If usual communication is like this, once the situation escalates, communication between China and Japan will be even more difficult, and I am very worried that a situation, which could have been prevented beforehand, will end up being uncontrollable,” he said.
Tensions have worsened in the past year as Tokyo has become more vocal in its support for Taiwan and made what Beijing sees as “provocative” moves, such as sending an active defence official to the island.
Last month, highlighting growing concern about the prospect of Beijing attacking Taiwan, Hatoyama told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore: “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.”
I am very worried that a situation, which could have been prevented beforehand, will end up being uncontrollable
YUKIO HATOYAMA