Chronologies
Japan - China
Chronology from May 2013 to Aug 2013
: China’s Vice Foreign Minister Li downplay chances for Abe-Li meeting during September G20 meeting in Russia.
: Two Chinese frigates transit in international water between Okinawa and Miyakojima.
: Four Chinese Coast Guard Ships operate in Japan’s contiguous zone near the Senkakus.
: Five Japanese ships carrying fishermen and members of Ganbare Nippon sail to Senkakus but do not land. It is the fifth visit to the Senkakus this year by Ganbare Nippon.
: PM Abe does not visit Yasukuni Shrine but sends offering as LDP president; three Cabinet ministers and 102 members of the Diet pay homage at the shrine.
: Isozaki Yosuke, special advisor to the prime minister, in Facebook post says that exercise of the right of collective-self-defense should be considered from a comprehensive perspective, not limited to the four cases previously under review.
: Chinese Ambassador Cheng meets Vice Foreign Minister Saiki; Japanese Foreign Ministry sources reports discussions included Yasukuni, Okinawa, and the Senkakus.
: Nine-member delegation of Japanese parliamentarians visits Beijing and meets Yang Yi, assistant minister of the CCP’s International Department.
: Thirty-fifth anniversary of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship occurs with no official ceremonies to mark the day.
: PM Abe says that constitutional revision is his “sacred duty.”
: Japan protests incursions into Japanese waters by Chinese vessels on Aug. 7-8 to Chinese Embassy, which refuses to accept the protest.
: Japan launches helicopter carrier Izumo.
: Yomiuri Shimbun aircraft observes Chinese construction efforts in East China Sea near Japan’s claimed mid-line boundary.
: Japanese Coast Guard reports Chinese Coast Guardsmen board Chinese fishing boats operating in Japan’s contiguous zone near the Senkakus.
: Yanai Shunji, head of the prime minister’s advisory commission on issues related to the constitution and the exercise of collective self-defense says that the current government’s views are “excessively narrow.”
: Vice Premier Li meets former PM Hatoyama; Xinhua reports Li cautions Japan not to forget the past, urging both countries to face the future, squarely looking at the past.
: Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Ihara protests Chinese incursion to Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.
: LDP project team proposes that government ask China to cease development operations in East China Sea.
: Vice Foreign Minister Saiki visits Beijing and meets Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui. PM Abe says that “the door to dialogue with Japan is always open.”
: Japanese Ministry of Defense releases Mid-Term Review of National Defense Program Guidelines.
: Japan scrambles fighters in response to flight of Y-8 surveillance aircraft between Okinawa and Miyakojima.
: Chinese research ship operates in Japan’s contiguous zone without prior permission of Japan.
: China launches new Coast Guard.
: In pre-election visit to Ishigaki, PM Abe underscores Japan’s determination on the Senkakus, saying “we will not budge even one inch.”
: Reuters reports CNOOC will ask permission to develop seven new oil and gas fields; Chief Cabinet Secretary says Japan could not accept any unilateral steps taken by China.
: Chinese ships repeatedly enter Japanese territorial water in Senkakus.
: Iijima Isao, political confidant of Prime Minster Abe, visits Beijing.
: PM Abe issues proclamation to mark July 15 National Sea Day, emphasizing determination to defend freedom of the seas and not recognize change based on use of force.
: Ministry of Defense reports Japanese ASDF aircraft scrambled 115 times in the period April-June 2013, the highest number since the fourth quarter of 2005; scrambles against Chinese aircraft totaled 69 compared to 15 in the same period in 2012.
: China expresses “strong dissatisfaction” with Japan’s 2013 Defense White Paper and its “malicious hype about the so-called China threat.”
: Japanese Ministry of Defense releases 2013 Defense White Paper, which expresses concern that Chinese assertive air and maritime actions could result in unexpected contingencies and asserts that these actions in the Senkakus represent efforts to change the status quo by force.
: PM Abe tells Upper House Budget Committee that Yanai commission is considering going beyond the four cases previously developed with respect to the exercise of the right of collective self- defense.
: Xinhua reports sentencing of rioters involved in anti-Japanese demonstrations of September 2012 following nationalization of Senkakus.
: PM Abe says it is “extremely regrettable” if China is developing new gas fields in the East China Sea and asks China to abide by 2008 agreement on joint development.
: Chinese ships operate in Japan’s territorial waters.
: Foreign Minister Kishida acknowledges failure to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang during ASEAN meeting in Brunei and lack of progress in arranging a high-level meeting with China’s leaders; says working-level contacts continue.
: Yu Zhengsheng, fourth ranking member of the Standing Committee, meets visiting Japanese business delegation; China’s Central Television carries Yu’s remarks that it is in the fundamental interest of both countries to stabilize relations.
: Chinese ships enter Japanese territorial waters in the Senkakus.
: PM Abe tells reporters that there should be no conditions for a meeting of Japanese and Chinese leaders.
: Former PM Hatoyama meets with PM Li in the Great Hall of the People; the meeting is Li’s first with a representative of Japan’s political world.
: Chinese ships enter Japanese territorial waters in the Senkakus.
: Former PM Hatoyama meets Foreign Minister Wang in Beijing. After the meeting, he says that Japan should acknowledge the existence of a dispute over the Senkakus.
: Former PM Hatoyama tapes interview with Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV and urges Japanese government to acknowledge existence of a dispute over the Senkakus.
: Chinese ships enter Japanese territorial waters in Senkakus.
: Taniuchi Shotaro visits Beijing to explore possibilities for high-level meeting.
: Minister of Defense Onodera points to need to develop an amphibious force with marine capabilities; previews discussion of “strike capabilities” in mid-term review of Japan’s National Defense Program Guidelines.
: LDP calls for an amphibious force to defend Japan’s remote islands.
: Chinese ships enter Japan’s territorial waters in Senkakus.
: Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga replies that Japan’s postwar territory had been defined by the San Francisco Treaty, not the Cairo Declaration and that the Republic of China had accepted the San Francisco settlement.
: Xinhua reports 2012 Strategic Assessment study released by Ministry of National Defense think tank; report notes increasing danger of air and maritime contingencies with Japan.
: Three Chinese frigates pass in international waters between Okinawa and Miyakojima en route to exercises in the western Pacific.
: PM Abe visits Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery.
: PM Li Keqiang speaking in Potsdam Germany announces that on basis of Potsdam and Cairo Declarations Senkakus are to be returned to China.
: PM Abe reaffirms Murayama Statement.
: Minister of Defense Onodera Itsunori announces May 2 and May 12 transit of submerged submarine through Japan’s contiguous zone around Amami-Oshima Island.
: Researchers from Chinese Academy of Social Science publish an article that questions Japan’s sovereignty over Okinawa. China’s Foreign Ministry maintains that there is no change in government’s position regarding Japan’s sovereignty over Okinawa.
: President Barack Obama in Sunnylands meeting with President Xi Jinping emphasizes that Japan is a treaty ally of the US.
: Two Chinese frigates pass through Japan’s contiguous zone between Yonaguni and Nishiomote Islands en route to western Pacific.
: Director General Sugiyama Shinsuku protests Chinese entry into Japanese territorial waters in the Senkakus.
: Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey on a visit to China states that the US will honor treaty obligations to Japan.