Abe's irresponsible schemes

By calling China irresponsible, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has once again merely demonstrated his own irresponsibility.

Abe accused China of changing the status quo in the East China and South China seas by force on Thursday, and said it was the responsibility of Japan and other countries to prompt China to grow peacefully as a responsible country.

His misleading and nonsensical remarks are nothing but a perversion of the truth, and they have shown, once again, that it is Abe and his government that have no sense of responsibility, says a Xinhua commentary.

The Abe administration has already become a recidivous troublemaker in East Asia by denying history, sabotaging the postwar world order and seeking to change its pacifist Constitution.

It is ironic that a troublemaking Japan urges a responsible China to act responsibly. China always advocates peaceful settlement of regional disputes and plays a constructive and responsible role in regional and global affairs, matching its words with deeds.

China's will and determination to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity are unswerving, but taking regional peace and security into consideration, it continues to exercise restraint and remains committed to solving the disputes through dialogue and consultation.

Abe's aim is very clear; his groundless criticism of China was meant to hype the "China threat" cliche to the Japanese people and the rest of the world. He wants to hide the fact that the simmering tension in East Asia was ignited by the Japanese government's "nationalizing" of China's Diaoyu Islands in 2012, and his visit to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine last December, and he wants to woo more support from the United States in the hope of containing China.

Moreover, by launching a verbal campaign against China a week before US President Barack Obama visits Asia, Abe is playing dog-and-whistle politics with its ally.

What is more disappointing is that his attempts to muddy the water seem to be working to some extent, as some senior US officials, including Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, have harshly criticized Beijing rather than Tokyo for the rising tensions.

It will be disastrous if the US, one of the ballasts of global and regional peace and stability, as well as other countries in the region, continue to turn a blind eye to Abe's nefarious designs.

(China Daily 04/21/2014 page8)