Financial Times (September 18)
“With their economies struggling and domestic politics in disarray, the last thing leaders in China and Japan need now is a foreign policy crisis. Sadly, that is what they are getting into.” The dispute over the Senkaku islands has entered “a more dangerous phase.” A number of circumstances conspired to create the crisis, but there is “no reason for China and Japan to allow further escalation. It is inconceivable that Asia’s two economic giants, joined at the hip commercially, should get into a prolonged confrontation, let alone a military conflict, over these islands. The crisis has already exacted a heavy toll on both countries.”
“With their economies struggling and domestic politics in disarray, the last thing leaders in China and Japan need now is a foreign policy crisis. Sadly, that is what they are getting into.” The dispute over the Senkaku islands has entered “a more dangerous phase.” A number of circumstances conspired to create the crisis, but there is “no reason for China and Japan to allow further escalation. It is inconceivable that Asia’s two economic giants, joined at the hip commercially, should get into a prolonged confrontation, let alone a military conflict, over these islands. The crisis has already exacted a heavy toll on both countries.”
Tags: China, Confrontation, Crisis, Japan, Military conflict, Senkaku islands
