In the media reports about Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s visit to the U.S., people noticed that the U.S. was relatively low key when hosting Abe. Also, Obama didn’t make an open statement in public regarding the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands issue. Some interpreted the situation as the United States “snubbing” Abe.
An article in People’s Daily reminded Chinese readers not to fall into such a trap so easily. The article said, “The three parties of China, Japan, and the United States have been carefully playing the diplomatic game around the Diaoyu Islands issue. … China asked the United States to be strict in maintaining a neutral stance. Relying on its relationship with the U.S. as an ally, Japan tried to pull the United States into explicitly siding with them and backing Japan. Publicly, the U.S. claims to maintain a neutral position, but, behind the scenes, it has already chosen a side. All its words target China from the inside out. In other words, in its consideration of the strategic interests of the Diaoyu Islands issue, the United States gives more weight to its relations with Japan as an ally.”
“… In its adjusted U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy, Japan ranks as an important ally. Compared to China, it is self-evident who is closer and who is farther away. To this, we Chinese people should be clear in our hearts and have a calm and strong mind. We should neither overreact to the closeness of the United States and Japan nor be fooled by the false illusion of ‘cold’ diplomatic gestures.”
Finally, the article asserted that “China’s continuous growth and development is the fundamental guarantee of the final solution to the Diaoyu Islands issue. As China continues to grow, China will surely become more confident, calm and firm [in dealing with the issue]. While in the process of solving this problem, [China] still needs to calculate the pros and cons carefully and to take action with good reasoning, with advantage, and with restraint.”
Source: People’s Daily, February 26, 2013
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2013/0227/c57507-20610222.html