China calls off joint gas seabed talks / Move response to seizure of fishing vessel

Seima Oki / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

BEIJING--China, reacting bitterly to Japan's handling of the collision of a Chinese fishing boat with two Japan Coast Guard patrol ships near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, has postponed talks on a bilateral treaty on joint maritime gas field development, it was learned Saturday.

Beijing's action was a countermeasure against Wednesday's arrest of Chinese fishing boat skipper Zhan Zixiong, 41, and the subsequent 10-day extension of his detention along with the boat's 14 crew members, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokes-woman Jiang Yu was quoted as saying by China's official Xinhua News Agency.

The Japanese and Chinese governments had planned a second round of negotiations in the middle of this month in Beijing on a gas exploration treaty aimed at ending a dispute between the two countries over waters containing undersea gas fields near the Senkaku Islands, called Diaoyu in Chinese. The first round of the ministerial bureau chief-level talks were held in late July in Tokyo.

The spokeswoman was cited by Xinhua as reiterating the Diaoyu Islands are "inherently territories of China," lambasting Japan's stand that the Senkaku Islands are part of the city of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture.

"Japan has ignored China's repeated solemn representations and staunch opposition, and obstinately decided to subject the Chinese captain to so-called judiciary procedures," Jiang said.

"If Japan continues in this reckless fashion, it will taste its own bitter fruit," the spokeswoman was quoted as stressing.

Beijing has reacted in an especially severe manner to a Japanese court decision in favor of a prosecutors' request on Friday to extend the boat captain's detention for 10 days. The decision came after Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi summoned Japanese Ambassador to China Uichirio Niwa earlier Friday to lodge a strong protest over handling of the boat collision.

Diplomatic sources in Beijing said China is keen to pressure Japan for the early release of the boat skipper and his crew members by taking "hostage" the joint gas field development pact sought by Japan.

China's vehement response to the boat collision issue also is considered designed to ward off accusations by angry Chinese citizens of their country's perceived weakness over the arrest of the fishing boat captain, the sources pointed out.

By taking a tough stand over the issue, Chinese leaders seem to have intended to calm anti-Japanese public opinion with a view to preventing it from escalating into radical moves against Japan, they said.