[September 20 2010]
Japan urged China to remain calm and not inflame their diplomatic spat further today after Beijing severed high-level contacts and then called off a visit by Japanese youth over the detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain near disputed islands.
Chinas actions pushed already-tense relations to a new low, and showed Beijings willingness to play hardball with its Asian rival on issues of territorial integrity, which include sparring with Japan over natural gas fields in the East China Sea.
Late Sunday, Beijing said it was suspending ministerial and provincial-level contacts, halting talks on aviation issues and postponing meetings to discuss energy-related issues, including a second round of talks with Japan on the gas deposits.
An official Chinese youth organisation today called off a visit by 1,000 young Japanese to Shanghai, piling more pressure on Japan to release the captain, who has been held for nearly two weeks after his ship collided with Japanese patrol boats in the East China Sea on Sept. 7.
The tensions have sent ties to their lowest level since the 2001-2006 term of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, whose repeated visits to a war shrine in Japan enraged China.
They have raised questions about cooperation between the nations at international forums such as this weeks summit in New York on United Nations goals to fight poverty, which Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao are attending.