SYDNEY ¨C In a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Feb. 22, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe informed the audience of officials, experts and journalists that Japan is ¡°back¡± and will not stand down in its ongoing sovereignty dispute with China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. With Chinese provocations on the rise, U.S. President Barack Obama, Abe¡¯s host, appealed for calm and restraint on both sides.
Japan is likely to accede ¡ª grudgingly ¡ª to America¡¯s request, as it remains dependent on its alliance with the United States for its security. But it will be much more difficult to persuade China that it should stand down.
China¡¯s assertiveness over its sovereignty claim reflects more than a desire to exploit seabed resources, or to gain a widened strategic gateway into the western Pacific. It is also about national renewal and rejuvenation ¡ª the core of the Chinese Communist Party¡¯s raison d¡¯etre. Turning away from a fight with its former occupier and historical rival would be a step backward in this six-decade-long quest.
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