日中国交４０年 「互恵」再構築へ長期戦略を

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 29, 2012)
Long-range strategy a must for Japan-China reciprocity
日中国交４０年　「互恵」再構築へ長期戦略を（9月28日付・読売社説）

　◆外交力の発揮で事態悪化防げ◆

When diplomatic relations were established between Japan and China in 1972, who could have imagined the relationship would become as strained as it is now?
　日中両国が国交を樹立した時、これほどまで関係が険悪になると誰が予想しただろうか。

Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of a joint declaration by then Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing. Despite the importance of the milestone, events celebrating Japan-China ties have been canceled or suspended one after another.
　訪中した田中角栄首相が周恩来首相と共同声明に調印してから、２９日で４０年になる。節目の年なのに、記念行事が次々打ち切られている。

Boycotts of Japanese goods have spread in China, and the bilateral relationship is in an unprecedentedly grave situation. There are no signs that Chinese protests against Japan's decision to nationalize the Senkaku Islands will subside anytime soon.
　中国では日本製品の不買運動も広がっている。かつてない深刻な事態だ。尖閣諸島国有化への中国の反発は収束する気配がない。

Rocky relations between the world's No. 2 and No. 3 economies are bound to have an adverse effect on the region as well as the global economy.
　しかし、世界第２、３位の経済大国の不正常な関係は周辺地域や世界経済にも悪影響を与える。

How should Japan deal with China? First, it must map out and execute a long-range strategy for normalizing relations.
日本は今後、中国とどう向き合っていくか。関係の正常化へ長期的な戦略が欠かせない。

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A political, economic chill
　◆「政冷経冷」の対日意識◆

Among the anti-Japan demonstrations that have occurred recently in China, the event that best symbolizes the bleak state of bilateral ties was the attack on a Panasonic Corp. factory by a violent mob.
　中国各地で起きた反日デモの中で、パナソニックの工場が暴徒に襲われた事件ほど、日中の寒々しい現状を象徴するものはない。

Panasonic has played a pioneering role among Japanese firms in expanding its operations in China.
　パナソニックは中国進出の先駆的企業である。

A meeting in 1978 between Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of the current Panasonic, and visiting Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping served as a catalyst for expansion by Japanese companies in China. In the meeting, Deng asked Matsushita to support China's development with both technology and business management.
１９７８年、来日したトウ小平副首相が創業者の松下幸之助氏と会い、中国発展のために技術、経営面での支援を求めたことがきっかけとなった。

In the wake of the meeting, Japanese firms rushed to establish offices in China, which created many jobs. In addition, the Japanese government continued to loan China yen until fiscal 2007.
　その後、多くの企業が中国で事業を拡大し、雇用も生んできた。日本は２００７年度まで円借款を供与し続けた。

There is no doubt the assistance of the Japanese government and companies strengthened China's economic fundamentals and helped China's economy surpass even that of Japan's in terms of gross domestic product.
　それが中国の経済基盤を強化し、国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）が日本を上回るほどに成長する一助となったことは間違いない。

Japan's cooperation with China, however, is largely unknown to the ordinary people of China.
　だが、日本の協力姿勢は中国国内でほとんど認識されていない。

On the contrary, China in the 1990s strengthened patriotic education in its schools, inculcating anti-Japan sentiment and spreading attitudes downplaying Japan's role among the Chinese public even as the economy developed.
それどころか、９０年代に反日の愛国教育が強まり、経済発展に伴って日本軽視の風潮が広がった。

This state of mind appears to be intensifying in China, allowing the current political and economic chill in the bilateral relationship.
　中国では、対日関係は政治も経済も低調な「政冷経冷」で構わないとの意識が強まっている。

Nevertheless, it should never be forgotten that the economies of Japan and China have grown deeply intertwined.
　しかし、日中両国は経済的に不即不離の関係にある。

The two countries have established a system of international division of labor in which China imports industrial parts from Japan to assemble into finished products. These are then marketed domestically in China or exported to the United States, Europe and elsewhere. Both sides must not forget this fact.
日本から輸入した部品を中国で最終製品に組み立て、中国国内で販売したり、欧米などに輸出したりする国際分業体制が築かれている。そのことを忘れてはなるまい。

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Strengthen coast guard
　◆尖閣で必要な海保強化◆

The root cause of problems surrounding the Senkaku Islands lies in China's unilateral assertion of a groundless claim to the islets in the 1970s, but only after learning that the area of the East China Sea around the islands might contain rich oil resources.
　尖閣諸島問題の根源は、周辺海域に石油があることを知った中国が７０年代、根拠もない領有権を一方的に主張したことにある。

At a press conference when the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China came into effect in 1978, Deng said, "It does not matter if this question [the dispute over the Senkaku Islands] is shelved for some time," thus proposing leaving the issue to future generations to solve.
　トウ小平氏は７８年、日中平和友好条約発効の際の記者会見で、尖閣問題について「一時棚上げにしても構わない」と語り、解決を次世代に委ねる意向を表明した。

However, China in 1992 enacted its Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, which specifies that the islands belong to China. More recently, China has caused friction to flare by repeatedly sending surveillance ships to the waters around the islands.
　だが、中国は、９２年には尖閣領有を明記した領海法を制定し、近年は、監視船を尖閣諸島近海に再三派遣するなど事あるごとに日本との摩擦を引き起こしてきた。

The recent nationalization of some of the Senkaku Islands is merely a transfer of ownership from a private citizen to the central government. China may have been angered because the purchase took place shortly after Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Vladivostok, Russia, but China's ire has been greater than Japan expected.
　尖閣諸島の国有化は、所有権が民間人から政府に移転するだけのことである。ロシア・ウラジオストクで野田首相と胡錦濤国家主席が会った直後に、国有化したことが中国を刺激した面はあるが、中国の反発は予想を超えていた。

At a recent meeting between Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in New York, Yang called Japan's nationalization of the islands a "denial" of the outcome of "the anti-fascist war," by which he meant China's victory over Japan in World War II.
　日中外相会談で中国側が国有化を「反ファシズム戦争勝利の成果を否定するものだ」と指摘し、

We see Yang's attempt to associate the islands with unrelated historical events as extremely far-fetched.
無関係な歴史問題と絡めたのは、あまりに牽強(けんきょう)付会(ふかい)だ。

Japan should not stand idly by while China battles for world opinion by vehemently criticizing Japan over nonexistent "faults."
　ありもしない日本の「非」を世界に言い募る中国の「世論戦」に日本は手をこまねいてはいられない。

Noda, speaking before the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, said, "Any attempt by a nation to achieve its ideology or claims through the unilateral threat or use of force is absolutely unacceptable." We see this view as eminently reasonable.
野田首相が国連演説で、中国を念頭に「一方的な力や威嚇を用いる試みは受け入れられない」と主張したのは、当然である。

China recently launched its first aircraft carrier. The country's policy of expanding its military is sure to continue under its new leadership and will likely be promoted more strongly than ever.
　中国初の空母も就役した。軍拡路線は、近く発足する新指導部へ引き継がれ、より強力に進められよう。

If effective control over the Senkaku Islands were lost, it would be extremely difficult to regain. Therefore, the government must set as its highest priority the strengthening of the Japan Coast Guard's capabilities to counter any infringement on the nation's sovereignty.
　尖閣諸島で実効支配をいったん失ってしまえば、取り戻すのは非常に困難となる。主権を侵害する行為を排除できるよう海上保安庁の体制強化に国を挙げて取り組むことが最優先である。

Needless to say, a military confrontation must be avoided at all costs. The deployment of the MV-22 Osprey aircraft to the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture is an important part of boosting deterrence toward China.
　無論、軍事的対立は何としても避けなければならない。米海兵隊が新型輸送機オスプレイを沖縄に配備することも、対中抑止力を強める意味で重要である。

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Achieve prosperity together
　◆経済・環境で共栄を◆

Since several years ago, beginning with the Cabinet of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan had held talks with China over the joint development of gas fields in the East China Sea from the standpoint of fostering a "strategically reciprocal relationship" so both nations could live in harmony and prosperity.
　安倍内閣以降、日中両国はウィンウィン（共存共栄）を意味する「戦略的互恵関係」を基軸に東シナ海のガス田共同開発協議などを進めた。

However, "reciprocal" ties have been stalled since a Chinese fishing vessel rammed JCG patrol vessels off the Senkaku Islands in 2010.
だが、１０年の尖閣諸島沖の漁船衝突事件後、暗礁に乗り上げている。

Thorough preparations are essential to rebuilding the reciprocal relationship. The government must inform China through various channels that it is willing to cooperate, not only in the industrial and tourism sectors and in enhancing agricultural productivity, but also in areas such as energy efficiency and environmental protection.
　互恵関係を立て直すには周到な準備が欠かせない。日中双方が産業・観光振興、農業の生産性向上の分野だけではなく、省エネや環境対策などの分野でも協力し合えることを、様々なパイプを駆使して、中国に伝えるべきだ。

Close cooperation with the United States is also vital in improving the Japan-China relationship, as is strategic diplomacy by reinforcing ties with neighbors, including India, Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
　米国との緊密な連携も日中関係の改善を図るには不可欠だ。同時に東南アジア諸国連合（ＡＳＥＡＮ）、インド、ロシアなど、周辺国との関係を強化し、戦略的に対中外交を展開する必要がある。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 28, 2012)
（2012年9月28日01時12分 読売新聞）