Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to promulgate at a G7 meeting the false idea that Beijing poses a threat to maritime security on the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
Such a plan to muddy the waters is nothing but a lousy trick to divert increasingly intensive global attention from a statement by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender in WWII as well as Tokyo's unapologetic stance on its wartime atrocities.
As an island nation, Japan's concern about maritime security is justified. But to hype nonexistent threat on the East China Sea is obviously a step too far and ill-intended.
It is known to all that the safe passage of vessels on the East China Sea has never been adversely affected by the China-Japan dispute over the Diaoyu Islands, which have long been part of the Chinese territory.
By wrongfully portraying the bilateral dispute as a maritime security threat, Japan aims to cheat G7 partners into supporting its claim on the islands. And one could believe in good faith that other members of the group will hardly be fouled by the trick.
When it comes to the South China Sea, although several countries are involved in territorial disputes there, waterways there have never been blocked and navigation freedom never been compromised.
Facts have shown that China and other claimants are fully capable of safeguarding maritime security on the South China Sea. And they have also demonstrated the will to find a peaceful solution to their disputes.
None of the G7 members is a relevant party to such disputes and they should not interfere in the matter.
The planned maneuver by Kishida is actually intended to draw attention away from the upcoming Abe statement, amid growing concern that the document may seek to further dilute the sense of guilt of Japan for the country's wartime atrocities.
For Japan to become a normal country and to play a bigger role on the global stage, it has first to win the trust of the international community, which unfortunately remains suspicious if Japan truly repents over its past aggression, due to an almost nonstop stream of events that have testified to Japan's lack of sincerity over the issue.
It seems that Tokyo needs to be reminded that any attempt to obscure the focus on the Abe statement is futile and will only serve to deepen the distrust toward Japan.
To get a nod from the international society, the statement must recognize history as it is and make sincere apologies to countries that once suffered from Japanese invasion and/or colonial rule, instead of trying to create false impressions on Japan's role during the war.
