Xi may want Trump to rein in Japan in spat with China, say analysts

Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to see the United States rein in Japan to help defuse the worst diplomatic crisis in Asia in years, according to US-based analysts.

- Bhagyashree Garekar US Bureau Chief

There was no explicit mention of the China-Japan spat, raging since Nov 7, in statements after the hour-long phone conversation between Mr Xi and his US counterpart Donald Trump on Nov 24.

Mr Trump did not name Japan or Taiwan in a social media post after the call. An official readout from China also made no mention of Japan.

But analysts said it was notable that it was Mr Xi who initiated the call. This indicated China’s keenness to frame the issue and caution Washington against leaning towards Tokyo and imperilling its own relationship with Beijing, they said.

However, this characterisation was disputed on Nov 25 by a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who said at a regular daily press conference in Beijing that it was Mr Trump who initiated the call.

Just hours after the two presidents spoke, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters early on Nov 25 in Tokyo that she had discussed relations with China in a call with Mr Trump at his request. The White House has yet to comment on this call.

The spat was sparked off by Ms Takaichi’s suggestion during a Nov 7 parliamentary debate that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could be an existential threat that triggers a military response from Tokyo. An infuriated Beijing launched a pressure campaign, asking its people to avoid travelling to Japan, threatening to ban Japanese seafood and criticising Japan at the UN.

As tensions ratcheted up, Japan countered China with its own statement at the UN, and said it was moving to deploy a medium-range surface-to-air missile unit at a military base on Yonaguni, an island near Taiwan's east coast. China called the move a deliberate bid to “create regional tension and provoke military confrontation”.