Koizumi voices discontent with China for recent confrontations

Asian Political News, May 27, 2002

TOKYO, May 21 Kyodo

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday voiced discontent at China's handling of recent events involving the two nations, such as the May 8 incident in which Chinese police entered a Japanese consulate and forcibly removed five North Korean asylum seekers.

''Japan and China sometimes have problems that are not easily settled. It is essential that China adheres to international laws,'' the Japanese premier told a gathering in Tokyo where several Asian state leaders were present.

''The Japan-China relationship is important to the world as well as the region. Under the framework, we should deal with the problems in a cool-headed manner in line with the fundamental concept of international laws,'' Koizumi said.

Among the attendees at a reception for the International Conference on the Future of Asia were Lao Prime Minister Bounnhang Vorachit, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Japan-China relations have been strained over the issue of the five North Korean asylum seekers -- two men, two women, and a young girl -- who were seized by Chinese officers from the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, northeastern China.

Tokyo claims the Chinese officers entered the Japanese consulate ground without Japan's consent, a claim Beijing flatly denies.

The five North Koreans are believed to be in Chinese custody in Shenyang. Calls for a humanitarian decision on their fate have grown as Japan and China remain unable to reach any clear agreement over what will happen to them despite almost two weeks of negotiation.

Another issue testing bilateral relations between Tokyo and Beijing is a Japanese plan to raise a suspected North Korean spy ship that sank last December in China's exclusive economic zone after exchanging fire with Japanese coast guard vessels.

Japan has conveyed its desire to salvage the ship from where it lies in the East China sea, but China has yet to agree to the request.