Chronologies
Japan - China
Chronology from May 2014 to Aug 2014
: Japan’s Ministry of Defense announces ¥3.5 trillion budget request for FY 2015, a 3.5 percent increase.
: Japan’s Ministry of Defense requests a 3.5 percent increase in the defense budget for FY 2015.
: Mainichi Shimbun reports Li Xiaolin, head of Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and confidant of President Xi, is considering a visit to Japan late September or early October.
: Haijian 2101, 2113, 2146, and 2305 enter Japan’s territorial waters.
: China hits Japanese auto parts makers with approximately $200 million fines for alleged price fixing.
: PM Abe does not pay homage at the Yasukuni Shrine, making a sakaki offering instead. However, 84 members of the Diet, a supra-party delegation and three Cabinet-level officials visit the shrine.
: Yomiuri Shimbun reports the LDP will likely submit legislation to autumn Diet session to designate remote but inhabited islands, close to national borders as “special border remote islands,” authorizing infrastructure construction/SDF facilities on the designated islands.
: Chinese Coast Guard ships enter Japan’s contiguous zone near the Senkakus. On Aug. 12, three ships enter Japan’s territorial waters and patrol for four hours.
: PM Abe in Sankei Shimbun interview speaks to the importance of Japan-China relations and of the need for both countries to make efforts to improve ties.
: Foreign Ministers Kishida Fumio and Wang Yi meet during ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting in Myanmar, marking the first meeting between Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers in close to two years.
: PM Abe tells press conference in Sao Paolo that it is important for both Japan and China to make quiet efforts toward the realization of a summit.
: China marks 120th anniversary of the 1894-95 Sino-Japanese War.
: Japan announces names for 158 uninhabited islands including five in the Senkakus; China protests action as undermining Chinese sovereignty.
: Former Prime Minister Fukuda makes a secret visit to Beijing; he meets President Xi and relays Abe’s interest in an Abe-Xi meeting.
: Former LDP Vice President Yamasaki Taku meets former Councilor Tang in Beijing. Yamasaki explores possibility of Abe-Xi meeting and Tang replies that under current conditions such a meeting would be difficult to realize.
: PM Abe in speech at Shimonoseki calls for meeting with President Xi during APEC meeting in Beijing.
: PM Abe in remarks before Upper House Budget Committee calls for meeting with President Xi.
: Chinese Coast Guard ships Haijin 2101 and 2151 enter Japanese territorial waters near the Senkakus.
: Chinese Coast Guard ships Haijian 2012, 2113, and 2146 are found operating in Japan’s contiguous zone near the Senkakus.
: Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga on television news program expresses hope for an Abe-Xi meeting at APEC in November.
: Premier Li Keqiang in joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls attention to the importance of future generations learning the lessons of history.
: China marks 77th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.
: Chinese Coast Guard ships Haijian 2101 and 2151 enter Japan’s territorial waters near the Senkakus. Challenged by the Japanese Coast Guard to withdraw, the Chinese ships reply that Diaoyu Island and related islands are historically part of China.
: PM Abe in a Yomiuri Shimbun interview calls for a meeting with President Xi without preconditions during APEC meeting in November.
: President Xi Jinping in remarks at Seoul National University reminds the audience of Japan’s 20th century militarism.
: Abe Cabinet announces decision to reinterpret Japan’s constitution to allow for the exercise of the right of collective self-defense. China’s Foreign Ministry questions whether Japan is moving from the path of peaceful development.
: Director General for Asian and Oceanic Affairs Ihara meets his Chinese counterpart in Beijing to explore the possibility of an Abe-Xi meeting.
: Beijing city begins week-long patriotic activities leading to the July 7 anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.
: Chinese Coast Guard ships Haijian 2102, and 2146 are found operating in Japan’s contiguous zone; they enter Japan’s territorial waters on June 30.
: Japan’s Minister of Transportation Ota Akihiro arrives in Beijing, marking the first visit of a Cabinet Minister to Beijing since nationalization of the Senkakus. He meets Vice Premier Liu Yandong.
: Chairman Tadamoto meets Wang Jiarui, head of the CCP’s International Department. Wang echoes Yu’s talking points and adds that there is no point in holding a summit if Abe continues to hold his wrong positions toward China.
: Social Democratic Party delegation led Chairman Yoshida Tadamoto meets Yu Zhengsheng in Beijing.
: Chinese Coast Guard ships Haijian 2102 and 2146 are found operating in Japan’s contiguous zone in the Senkakus area. On June 20, the Chinese ships enter Japanese territorial waters.
: Six members of the Chinese Coast Guard ship Haijian 2101 board a Chinese fishing boat, operating within Japan’s EEZ.
: Vice Foreign Minister Saiki calls in Ambassador Cheng to protest PLAAF action. Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga finds actions extremely regrettable and unacceptable.
: PLAAF and JASDF aircraft have a close encounter over the East China Sea.
: New Japan-China 21st Century Commission meets in Nagasaki, marking the first meeting of the group in two years.
: Chinese Coast Guard ships enter Japanese territorial waters in the Senkakus.
: PM Abe delivers keynote address at Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. His remarks emphasize rule of law, freedom of seas and overflight, and peaceful resolution of disputes. He calls for China to respond to 2007 agreement to establish maritime and air communications mechanism.
: Chairman Yonekura meets Vice President Li Yuanchao in Beijing.
: Keidanren Chairman Yonekura Hiromasa meets former State Councilor Tang in Beijing. Tang emphasizes economic cooperation.
: Chinese Coast Guard ships Haijian 2146 and 2151 enter Japanese territorial waters in the Senkakus. Chinese ships do not reply when asked to leave by the Japanese Coast Guard.
: Vice Foreign Minister Saiki Akitaka calls in Chinese Ambassador Cheng Yonghua to protest PLAAF actions.
: PLA Air Force (PLAAF) and Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) aircraft approach each other over the East China Sea.
: Japan’s Minister of Trade, Technology and Industry, Motegi Toshimitsu meets China’s Minister of Communications Gao Huncheng on the sidelines of APEC Trade Ministers Meeting, marking the first meeting of Cabinet ministers since nationalization of the Senkakus.
: New reports on the Diaoyu/Senkaku are posted on the website of the Japanese Cabinet Secretariat, including a Qing Dynasty map of 1744 that did not show the islands as part of China’s territory.
: Delegation of Japan’s Asia-Africa Study Group meets in Beijing with fourth ranking member of China’s leadership Yu Zhengsheng.
: Chinese Coast Guard ships Haijian 2101 and 2113 are found operating in Japan’s contiguous zone in the Senkakus. When challenged by Japanese Coast Guard, they again asserted they were operating in Chinese waters under Chinese law.
: PM Abe calls for dialogue with China without preconditions.
: Prime Minister Abe Shinzo addresses the North Atlantic Council and states that China’s continuing military build-up and lack of transparency are issues of concern within the international community.
: LDP Vice President Komura meets third ranking member of Chinese leadership, Zhang Dejiang, who tells him responsibility for improving bilateral relations rests with Japan.
: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Vice President Komura Masahiko meets former State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan in Beijing. He raises the possibility of an Abe-Xi meeting at APEC Leaders Meeting in November.