U.S.

walks tightrope in China-Japan dispute

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Japan says it will free the captain of a Chinese fishing boatHis vessel rammed two Japanese
boats, Japan saysChina demands the captain's release, and has cut off some economic talks with
JapanThe U.S. is confronted with standing by its close ally, Japan, while not irritating China
New York (CNN) -- The Obama administration is walking a tightrope over a diplomatic dispute
between China and Japan, as it seeks to curb aggressive Chinese behavior on the high seas while not
alienating the Asian giant.
The latest controversy over the simmering
dispute erupted when Japanese patrol
officers arrested the captain and crew of a
Chinese fishing boat earlier this month near
disputed islands -- known as Diaoyu in
China and Senkaku in Japan.
The crew was released. But the Chinese
captain remains in custody, accused of
ramming two Japanese boats with his
vessel.
On Friday, Japan said it will release the
captain, but did not offer a time frame.
The economic repercussions have been immediate. The Chinese government cut off high-level talks
with Japan on coal and increased commercial flights between the countries.
The dispute also threatens planned talks on a 2008 agreement to jointly develop gas fields located
near the disputed islands and in other parts of the East China Sea.
While the United States hasn't taken an official position on the claims to the islands, they are
considered part of Japan based on U.S.-Japan security treaties.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters Thursday the United States "would fulfill our alliance
responsibility" if the conflict escalated.
Though analysts don't think the current tension will escalate and draw in the U.S. military treaty
obligations, the agreements add murkiness to an already muddy territorial dispute.
It also puts the United States in the uncomfortable position of trying to stand by its closest ally in the
region, Japan, while not irritating China, a growing power that the U.S. needs for a variety of
political and economic issues.
"We're watching that tension very, very carefully," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff told reporters at the Pentagon ."Obviously we're very, very strongly in support of our
ally in that region, Japan.
Both China and Japan have raised the issue with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during meetings
on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. On Thursday, during talks with Japanese
Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, Clinton urged Japan to resolve the dispute through dialogue, State
Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
The United States urges "both sides to
work aggressively to resolve" their
differences "as quickly as possible,"
Crowley told reporters in New York
after the meeting.
President Barack Obama's special
assistant, Jeffrey Bader, said while the
U.S. government was not playing a
mediating role, it was talking with
both sides about the need to resolve
the dispute "soon."
"These two countries have a history
with each and there are nationalist
sentiments in both countries that can
be stirred up and could be a problem should it stagnate," he said. "We want to see China and Japan
have a good relationship, a relationship with reduced friction."
Bader said the issue did not come up during President Obama's meeting Thursday with Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao, where the agenda was dominated by the global economy.
After the meeting Obama called China an "outstanding partner" and said its work is "absolutely
critical" in resolving the financial crisis. Obama met later Thursday with Japanese Prime Minister
Naoto Kan.
The China-Japan dispute parallel's U.S. efforts to curb Chinese claims for territory in the South
China Sea, out of fear the increasingly powerful Chinese military could seek to dominate Asian
waters.
At a regional security forum in Vietnam in July, Secretary Clinton waded into thorny territorial
disputes in the area, saying Washington was concerned competing claims to the territory
undermined international maritime law and commerce.
While China has sought to negotiate territorial rights to the South China Sea individually with
countries in the region, the nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the
United States have called for a collaborative resolution. China maintains the disputes should not be
"internationalized."
In addition to rich areas for fishing, the islands in the South China Sea are believed to have large oil
and gas reserves and surround busy sea lanes shuttling resources for China's fast-growing economy.
Beijing has warned America that foreign interference in the waters off its southeastern coast
constitute an affront on its sovereignty.
Obama is meeting Friday with the leaders of Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei,
Cambodia and Laos. Along with Indonesia and Malaysia, they make up the ASEAN nations.
Bader said the United States hoped the leaders would endorse comments Clinton made in Vietnam,
including recognizing the fact that peaceful resolution of the South China Sea issue was "in the
interests of the entire international community," including the U.S.
Asian diplomats told CNN the United States wanted the ASEAN leaders to issue a communique after
the meeting echoing Clinton's strong stand that the South China Sea issue was in the interests of the
U.S., but the leaders do not want to do so, fearing it will anger China. Beijing has been working
through some ASEAN countries it has better relations with to soften the document, the sources said.
"The fact so many ASEAN leaders came to New York to meet with President Obama is evidence we
need America," one senior ASEAN diplomat said. "We don't need a communique to say this. That is
not the Asian way."