Japan 'altered stance adopted by Kuwait'

Making "additions" to other countries' statements has become a new fashion in Japanese diplomacy, China said on Monday.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei accused Japan of falsifying Kuwait's stance on the South China Sea issue, saying that the "additions" are aimed at confusing the public, and only expose Japan to ridicule.

"They lack one important ingredient - honesty," Hong said at a news conference in Beijing.

The remarks came after Kuwait's Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Suleiman Al-Jarallah said that a Japanese report about Kuwait's position on the South China Sea issue was distorted.

The Kuwaiti government supported the stance on the South China Sea in a statement issued after the seventh ministerial meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum last week, al-Jarallah said.

Kuwait believes China is resolving the South China Sea issue with other countries involved through consultation and in accordance with the United Nations Charter and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, he added.

Japan's Kyodo News reported on Thursday that the prime ministers of Japan and Kuwait had agreed during a meeting that China's "unilateral attempt" to change the status quo in the East and South China seas has made the security environment in East Asia more fragile.

Gao Hong, a senior researcher of Japanese studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "The spokesman's expression is very vivid," adding that Beijing has long been dissatisfied with Tokyo's "irresponsible comments" about China in multilateral meetings.

This is not a proper attitude for Japan to adopt to get on well with its neighbor, he added.

Earlier this month, Kyodo News also said the foreign ministers of Japan and Laos had reached consensus over the South China Sea by agreeing that it is crucial to solve the issue peacefully in accordance with international laws.

mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn