Chronologies
Japan - China
Chronology from Sep 2012 to Dec 2012
: Japanese Coast Guard confirms the fourth consecutive day of Chinese ships activity in Japan’s contiguous zone in the Senkakus.
: Abe Shinzo succeeds Noda Yoshihiko as Japan’s prime minister.
: Ambassador Kitera arrives in Beijing.
: Prime Minister-designate Abe meets Ambassador Cheng at LDP headquarters.
: Aircraft from China’s CMS approaches within 100 km of the Senkaku Islands; Air Self-Defense Force jets are scrambled.
: Ambassador Niwa address Japan’s National Press Club and expresses doubts about Senkakus purchase.
: Japan National Institute for Defense Studies issues annual China Security Report.
: Japanese Foreign Ministry publishes a position paper on Japan-China Relations Surrounding the Situation of the Senkaku Islands – in Response to China’s Airspace Incursion.
: Ambassador Niwa departs Beijing.
: Japanese Coast Guard confirms the seventh consecutive day of Chinese activity in the Senkakus contiguous zone.
: LDP wins 294 seats in the 480-seat Lower House of Parliament in Japanese general election.
: A newly commissioned Chinese Fisheries Law Enforcement Command ship enters Japan’s territorial waters in the Senkakus, marking the 18th incursion since Sept. 11.
: China submits a continental shelf claim to the United Nations that asserts Chinese sovereignty in the East China Sea to the Okinawa trough.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi contributes to a People’s Daily article on foreign policy of the new Xi Jinping administration. Yang writes that China will wage a struggle against Japan over the Diaoyu Islands.
: The 75th anniversary of the Imperial Army’s entry into Nanjing and the start of Nanjing Massacre are commemorated.
: Aircraft fromChina’s CMS intrudes into Japanese airspace. Air Self-Defense Forces jets are scrambled and Japan issues a protest.
: China’s commissions newest and largest Fisheries Law Enforcement Command ship in Shanghai.
: Former Gov. Ishihara attributes present tension in Japan-China relations to Noda government’s purchase of the Senkaku Islands.
: President Ma urges Japan to apologize for using sex slaves in World War II.
: CMS ship enters Japan’s contiguous zone.
: Vice Minister Kawai calls Ambassador Cheng to protest the incursion of four CMS ships into Japanese territorial waters.
: Japan releases a draft of its new Basic Plan on Ocean Policy aimed at strengthening its capabilities to deal with foreign incursions into Japanese waters.
: China criticizes US Senate action on the Senkakus.
: Japan and Taiwan hold preparatory talks on the resumption of fisheries talks.
: Ambassador Cheng acknowledges the expansion of PLA Navy activities to western Pacific is aimed at strengthening its power but says this development is not a threat.
: US Senate amends 2013 Defense Authorization Act to call for peaceful settlement of territorial issues in the East China Sea and self-restraint by all parties. It also reaffirms that the US-Japan Security Treaty extends to the Senkaku Islands.
: Four Chinese warships transit through Japan’s contiguous zone on the way to exercises in western Pacific; they return on Dec. 10.
: Foreign Minister Gemba publishes an op-ed titled “Japan-China Relations at a Crossroads” in the International Herald Tribune.
: Japan, ROK, China trade ministers agree to begin formal negotiations on a trilateral free trade agreement in early 2013.
: Japanese Coast Guard reports the 30th consecutive day of Chinese activity in Senkakus contiguous zone.
: Beijing police remove barricades from the area of Japanese Embassy in Beijing.
: Prime Minister Noda dissolves Diet and elections are set for Dec. 16.
: A reception marking the close of the 40th anniversary commemorations scheduled for Nov. 24 in Beijing is canceled.
: Dalai Lama addresses 140 members of the Diet’s Upper House; participants announce the formation of a “pro-Tibet Diet members’ alliance.” China condemns the move as interference by Japan’s rightwing forces in China’s internal affairs.
: Japan’s Tourism Ministry postpones a trilateral Japan, China, ROK meeting scheduled for Nov. 27, reporting that it had been informed by its Chinese counterpart that conditions were not right for China’s attendance.
: Dalai Lama arrives in Japan for 10-day visit; China protests the visit.
: Prime Ministers Noda and Wen attend the ASEM in Vientiane and do not meet.
: Four CMS ships enter waters off the Senkaku Islands and briefly enter into Japanese territorial waters.
: Japanese retailer Heiwado reopens two stores in Hunan Province after anti-Japanese riots – the first move by Japanese retailers to reopen on full-scale basis.
: China’s former Ambassador to Japan Chen Jian calls on the US to use its influence to move Japan to recognize existence of dispute and accept negotiations with China over the Diaoyu/Senkakus.
: Japan’s Fisheries Agency arrests the captain of a Chinese fishing boat engaged in unauthorized fishing in Japan’s EEZ off Kyushu. He is released the next day after paying a fine.
: Defense Minister Morimoto Satoshi announces suspension of Japan-China talks aimed at setting up a maritime crisis management mechanism.
: Vice Minister Zhang says Japan’s disregard for China’s sovereignty is the most serious shock in relations since normalization.
: Chief Cabinet Secretary Fujimura finds regular Chinese maritime activities in Japanese waters to be regrettable; Vice Minister Kawai telephones Ambassador Cheng to protest entry of Chinese ships into Japanese waters in the Senkakus; China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson responds that Chinese ships are conducting regular patrol to support China’s rights.
: Chinese oceanic research ship enters Japan’s EEZ and conducts research in an area different from its prior notification of activities and a CMS ship enters Japanese territorial waters.
: Kyodo reports that Chinese officials in September meeting with US Secretary of State Clinton did not refer to Diaoyus as a “core interest” of China.
: Jiji Press reports Japan and US canceled plans for November military exercises aimed at recapturing uninhabited island.
: Ambassador to China Niwa in remarks at Nagoya University says that Japan’s government and citizens are not fully aware of the seriousness of the Senkakus issue.
: Japanese Coast Guard recues 64 Chinese from the cargo ship Ming Yang after it catches fire off Okinawa.
: China dispatches naval vessels, aircraft, and helicopters to the East China Sea for a one-day exercise to “strengthen the capacity to safeguard territorial sovereignty and maritime interests.”
: Sasakawa Peace Foundation announces the postponement of Self Defense Force-PLA young officers exchange scheduled for late October.
: Sixty-seven members of the Diet visit Yasukuni Shrine.
: Foreign Minister Gemba defends the Senkakus purchase as a pragmatic move to preempt the proposed purchase by Tokyo Gov. Ishihara Shintaro.
: LDP President Abe Shinzo visits Yasukuni Shrine.
: Chinese media report the detention of five individuals for property destruction during anti-Japanese demonstrations Guangdong Province.
: Seven PLA warships return from exercises in western Pacific passing through Japan’s contiguous zone south-southeast of Yonaguni Island, becoming the first-ever PLA warships to transit through Japan’s contiguous zone.
: Foreign Minister Gemba meets US Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns; he reiterates Japan’s position on the Senkakus that a territorial problem does not exist.
: A memorial service for Chinese victims of World War II forced labor is held in Arao, Kumamoto Prefecture.
: Japan and US announce November exercise aimed at retaking uninhabited island.
: At the World Bank-IMF meeting in Tokyo, IMF Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu expresses optimism over resolution of Daioyu/Senkakus dispute. China’s Minister of Finance and Governor of the People’s Bank of China do not attend the meeting; Japanese see their non-attendance as reflecting China’s dissatisfaction with the Senkakus purchase.
: Meeting of Japan, ROK China Health officials in Kyoto is postponed after Chinese representative are unable to attend for unspecified reasons.
: Japanese Diet delegation to Taiwan meets President Ma but does not attend Taiwan National Day celebration. In his National Day address, Ma asserts Republic of China sovereignty over the Tiaoyutai Islands.
: Japanese Coast Guard reports that ships of CMS and Fisheries Law Enforcement Command had entered Japan’s contiguous zone 19 times since Sept. 11.
: Chinese ships enter Japan’s contiguous zone for seventh consecutive day.
: Taiwan’s Interior Ministry announces plans to build national maritime park in waters near the Senkakus.
: Japanese government announces appointment of Kitera Masato as the next ambassador to China.
: Japanese prosecutors announce they will not indict Chinese diplomat suspected of using false identity to renew his foreign registration; the diplomat departed Japan on May 22.
: Japan’s Ministry of Defense announces transit of seven PLA Navy warships in international waters between Okinawa and Miyakojima.
: Foreign Minister Gemba calls for dialogue to stabilize the Senkakus situation, but underscores Japan’s non-negotiable position regarding sovereignty over the islands.
: Four CMS ships enter Japan’s territorial waters in the Senkakus and depart later in day.
: Foreign Minister Gemba Koichiro informs press that Japan has protested entry of Chinese ships into the Senkakus; Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Sugiyama Shinsuke telephones Chinese Embassy to lodge protest; crisis management center established in the prime minister’s office.
: Taiwan’s President Ma says that entry of Taiwanese ships into Senkakus represents a peaceful demonstration, not a provocative act and expresses hopes for re-opening of Taiwan-Japan fisheries negotiations.
: Seven Taiwanese ships enter Japan’s contiguous zone in the Senkakus and depart later in the day.
: Japanese Coast Guard reports Sept. 30 sighting of Chinese and Taiwanese ships approaching the Senkakus.
: Hokkaido Gov. Takabashi Harumi postpones visit to China to attend the Shanghai Economic Forum, an event commemorating the 40th anniversary of normalization.
: Japanese Coast Guard reports rescue of Chinese crew members of distressed freighter off Osaka.
: Chinese Embassy in Tokyo reports receiving a bullet in the mail from a sender named “Noda Yoshihiko.”
: Okinawa Prefectural Police transfer to prosecutors two Japanese suspected of landing on Uotsuri Island in the Senkaku Islands.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi addresses the UN General Assembly, blasts Diaoyu purchase as illegal and invalid; asserts islands were stolen by Japan in 1895.
: Kono Yohei delegation meets in Beijing with Jia Qinglin, fourth ranking member of Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and former State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan.
: China Ministry of National Defense describes PLA Navy scheduled patrols and exercises in East China Sea as normal and legal activities aimed at protecting Chinese fishing and natural gas development activities.
: Prime Minister Noda speaks at UN General Assembly and calls for peaceful settlement of territorial disputes in accordance with international law.
: Vice Minister Kawai Chikao and Vice Minister Zhang Zhijun meet in Beijing to discuss Senkakus issue.
: Japan protests Taiwanese incursions into its territorial waters in Senkaku Islands.
: China issues a white paper on the Diaoyu Islands dispute.
: China announces commissioning of the aircraft carrier Liaoning.
: Ishigaki Municipal Assembly adopts a resolution calling on the national government to protect Japanese fishermen operating in Senkaku Islands.
: Chinese residents of Yokohama call off Oct. 1 National Day parade and celebrations due to safety concerns.
: At Chinese Embassy reception in Tokyo, Chinese diplomats invite “old friends” of China to scaled-down anniversary celebration in Beijing.
: Japan-China Economic Association postpones visit to China.
: Taiwanese fishing flotilla with about 60 boats departs for the Senkakus area.
: China informs Japanese government of the cancellation of 40th anniversary celebrations scheduled for Sept. 27 in Beijing.
: Xinhua reports China Maritime Surveillance agency concluded a test of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft; State Oceanic Administration announces plans to have drones operational by 2015.
: Ground Self-Defense Forces (GSDF) and US Marines engage in an exercise aimed at strengthening GSDF capabilities to defend remote islands.
: Ten Chinese surveillance ships arrive in waters near Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands.
: The 81st anniversary of Mukden Incident is celebrated in China with protests.
: Taiwan activists burn a Japanese flag to protest Senkakus purchase.
: Anti-Japanese demonstrations take place in Beijing and spread across China in the following week through Sept. 22.
: Japan announces purchase of Senkaku Islands; China asserts purchase is illegal, invalid, and a gross violation of China’s sovereignty. China Marine Surveillance (CMS) agency and Fisheries Law Enforcement Command ships begin to enter waters near the islands.
: Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko and President Hu Jintao meet on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Vladivostok; Hu emphasizes China’s opposition to Senkakus purchase.
: Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou visits Taiwanese island closest to Senkakus and asserts Republic of China sovereignty over the islands.
: Japanese government reaches broad agreement with the private owner on the purchase of Senkaku Islands.
: Meeting of Tachiagare (Standup) Japan and 35 Diet members, including Abe Shinzo, adopts a petition calling on the government to strengthen control over territorial waters.
: Chinese officials report the detention of two suspects involved in Aug. 27 attack on Ambassador Niwa’s car. Suspects are released on Sept. 5 with light administrative penalty after admitting participation in incident.