Japan's insincere maneuvers will boomerang

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida gestures during a press conference at the International Media Center in Hiroshima, Japan on April 11, 2016 after Foreign Ministers meeting of G7 countries visit the Peace Memorial Museum. [Photo/IC]

JUST ONE DAY after he concluded his first official visit to Beijing, Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida traveled to Thailand on Monday and emphasized that "it is important for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to demonstrate unity" toward China's maritime presence in the South China Sea. Haiwainet.cn commented on Wednesday:

That Kishida sought to lobby Southeast Asian countries to contain China on the South China Sea issue right after his visit to China, with which his country will expand cooperation in his words, is not a total surprise. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is just as capricious.

Although improving, the relations between China and Japan, as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said during the meeting with Kishida over the weekend, are still "fragile", which requires both sides to work closely to recalibrate and improve their ties.

This is unlikely to happen if Japanese senior officials remain fickle, especially when it comes to China's legal interests in the South China Sea, which does not even geographically concern Japan.

Tokyo's intervention in the waters is not only baseless, but also fraught with shady intentions.

Of course, as much as it is willing to increase political trust with Tokyo, Beijing did not expect a groundbreaking reconciliation as a result of Kishida's visit. Whether or not the two countries will manage to reach key consensuses on their disputes largely depends on Japan's sincerity in doing so.

On the one hand, Japan says it hopes that the South China Sea issues could be settled in a peaceful manner. On the other, it has sold cutting-edge weapons to Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines and Vietnam, which will only add fuel to the flames, and may even trigger a confrontation.

To fix the relationship between Japan and China, candid dialogue and exchanges, not insincere diplomatic maneuvers, are required.