There’s not much Japan is doing these days that pleases China, which has just come out with a warning that Japan and Taiwan should not restart negotiations on any fishing activities near the contested Senkaku Islands.

“We hope that countries concerned will strictly abide by the one-China principle and appropriately deal with related issues,” was the way Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei phrased his country’s displeasure at reports Taiwan and Japan were planning new talks about fishing, which have been suspended since February 2009 because of differences of opinion over who had sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands.

Japan and Taiwan are signaling plans to reopen talks on fishing rights off the islands in the East China Sea.  Taiwan has already reacted to Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba’s comments about such talks.  Genba confirmed he hoped to see the talks restart.  They’d been set to begin this month, but that schedule was put on hold due to the magnitude of China’s irritation over Japanese nationalization of the islands a few weeks ago.

Tensions are again escalating, as Chinese maritime surveillance vessels again entered the contiguous zone, waters just outside Japanese territory, near the Senkaku Islands. The Japan Coast Guard says it was an eighth consecutive day for the vessels.

• 
• NO DATA