Other Views

Consensus can't be denied

It seems Japanese leaders were not serious about reaching a consensus with China, they only used it as a stepping stone towards a bilateral summit meeting, and are scrapping it now that has ended. It is time they considered the price of this petty trick: By openly denying an official agreement signed by their senior officials, the Japanese government is losing credibility in global politics. Who dares trust a Japanese diplomat anymore?

Su Xiaohui, a researcher in international strategies at the China Institute of International Studies, People's Daily overseas edition, Nov 15

As an official document jointly issued by Chinese and Japanese government, the Four-principle consensus is legally binding to both sides; it is incredible that the Japanese cabinet denies it. Maybe the Japanese cabinet means to fan the flames of Japanese nationalism and rally support for the coming election, but they do so at the cost of destroying the trustworthiness of the Japanese state.

Wang Ping, a researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Global Times, Nov 23

Since Shinzo Abe took office the second time, his main measures are all against China and it is these hard measures that have won him the support of Japanese conservatives. The support is so important to his cabinet that they cannot afford to risk losing it - that's why his cabinet members are in such haste to deny the newly reached consensus with China. They thought the goodwill of China was less important and they will suffer for that false idea.

Zhang Diancheng, an international analyst, on ifeng blog, Nov 15

After years of crisis, Japan has lost its actual unilateral control over Diaoyu Islands and has to face China's Air Defense Identification Zone and unofficial campaigns to land the Islands. These are not only legal, but also physical evidence there is a dispute over the Diaoyu Islands and that's a trend the Japanese government is trying to reverse. Sino-Japanese relations won't improve without any fundamental breakthrough on the issue.

Beijing Youth Daily, Nov 15