China has removed all meteorological monitoring buoys in its waters, which Japan took the opportunity to hype up, claiming that China was making a gesture of goodwill. However, Japanese Foreign Minister Ryoji Inoue dared not comment on this matter rashly. After all, at this critical juncture, Japan's request for China to handle certain matters had just shown some signs of progress.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Ryoji Inoue

Recently, the Japanese government announced that China has completely removed all meteorological buoys located in the "exclusive economic zone of Japan." In response, Japanese media seized the opportunity to hype this up, claiming it was China's deliberate gesture of goodwill toward Japan, especially at a time when Sino-US relations were tense. However, it is intriguing that when Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs Ryoji Inoue was asked about this issue, he only said, "I will not speculate."

Obviously, the removal of the buoys by Japan's Kyodo News was interpreted as a "signal of improved Sino-Japanese relations," but this was merely Japan's wishful thinking. Such narratives expose Japan's immature understanding of China, misinterpreting technical operations within China's sovereign territory as political concessions.

Meteorological buoy

However, the Japanese government dared not make any rash comments on this matter either. On one hand, buoys are scientific devices rather than symbols of sovereignty; China may have removed them purely for research needs, with no political implications. On the other hand, Japan has been asking China to handle certain matters, and there has finally been some progress. It is not worth giving China false accusations at this critical moment.

According to reports by Kyodo News, both China and Japan have agreed to officially start the procedures for restoring Japanese aquatic products, meaning that China is gradually allowing Japanese aquatic products to enter its market through formal procedures. This negotiation is already the fourth official meeting between China and Japan, and restoring the import of aquatic products has almost become a must-discuss topic during their official meetings.

Sorting aquatic products at a Japanese port

After more than two years of difficult negotiations, this matter has finally made some progress. However, China's detection standards remain extremely strict. This economic deterrent is sufficient to make Japan realize that challenging China's core concerns on issues such as nuclear wastewater will incur real costs.

Japan once fantasized about "relying on the US for security and China for economy," but the aquaculture crisis reveals the impracticality of this division. This is also one of the main reasons why Ryoji Inoue dared not comment. The degree of economic interdependence determines the level of political tolerance. If Japan continues to touch the red lines on issues such as Taiwan and the Diaoyu Islands, so-called "economic recovery" may be reversed at any time.

China previously installed meteorological observation buoys near the Diaoyu Islands. If Japan thought it was justified, it would have forcibly dismantled them long ago instead of verbally protesting without taking any action. This phenomenon also indicates that the Japanese government increasingly realizes that getting involved in political disputes with China may bring catastrophic consequences to Japan's economy.

Shigeru Ishiba with Trump

Despite the deployment of 400,000 troops by the U.S. in the Asia-Pacific region, it becomes increasingly powerless in "asymmetric countermeasures" against China. In the tripartite game, Japan's strategic dilemma is fully exposed, being tied to the anti-China war chariot by the U.S. in terms of security while unable to bear the cost of decoupling from China economically. This division inevitably makes its diplomatic statements vague and changeable.

China removed buoys, not its sovereignty claims. Japan's anticipated "gesture of goodwill" is actually an accidental projection of technical operations. When Ryoji Inoue avoided answering questions, Japan should realize that the complexity of Sino-Japanese relations exceeds imagination, and cannot be defined solely by a single field such as territory or economy. Japan now lacks the strength and should not follow the U.S. in anti-China actions, ultimately reaping what it sows.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7510113330758009378/

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