OPINION:
China has suggested Japan “speak cautiously” when discussing the South China Sea, in a veiled threat to the former bitter enemies during the second World War. The comments came yesterday when Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Japanese National Security Adviser Shotaro Yachi ended a round of talks on the region.
Mr. Yang called upon Tokyo to “speak and act cautiously regarding the South China Sea issue and to play a constructive role as relevant countries in the region are making their efforts to solve the issue properly,” according to a report carried by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, wrote International Business Times.
In response, the Japanese advisor Mr. Yachi added, “Japan and China need to work together to strongly urge North Korea to avoid further provocative actions and obey things like United Nations resolutions.”
In addition, China announced a massive plan to build underwater monitoring stations throughout the disputed territory that could provide additional defense against American submarines and other military tasks. The monitoring networks will cost two billion yuan ($290 million) and “serve as a platform to provide long-term observation data and support experiments in the research of the maritime environments of the two seas,” reported CNN.
Jian Zhimin, a marine scientist at Shanghai’s Tongji University said the move cemented China’s status as an “ocean power… An ocean power must be able to go to the high seas and go global.” His colleague Zhou Huaiyang added the system could provide benefits to “national defense.”
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