In the border dispute between China and Japan last month, China looks like the winner. The captain of the Chinese fishing trawler was released by the Japanese and public support for the Japanese government fell off a cliff after that.
Compare to Japan, China had not suffered much in the spat. The Chinese government was relatively unhurt by the incident as most Chinese approved their government's handling of the territorial row. However it now seems that looks were deceiving.
In their bid to pressure Japan, China reportedly blocked commodities shipments, in particular rare earths shipments, to Japan. As China is the world leading exporter of such commodities, other countries have taken note of its action and are now looking for other sources of the commodity.
Rare earths are important as everything from iPods to solar panels used some form of rare earths. It’s a niche but important (and growing) market. And thanks to their actions against Japan, it’s a market China is going to lose.
Already Australia has stepped up to the plate, announcing itself as an alternate source of rare earths. Major consumers Japan, Europe and the United States have taken note and Japan is going one step further by stepping up link with Mongolia, another country with abundant resources of rare earth.
China has since come back to state that there never was any embargo of rare earths to Japan, but no one is taking any chances. Australian and Mongolian businessmen are expecting more orders and China only has itself to blame for that.
Japan may have lost the battle, but in the long-run, it seems that China will lose even more.
7 comments:
Well....
At least the Japanese stood by their countrymen...
I notice out of the four "held" by China...only three were released.
See deeper...and what you see of the "real" China and what it means for the future looks "not good" for now...
I think a number of 1st world countries [& the so called "power brokers/supposed "elites" behind them] are starting to realize they made a "mistake" all those years ago to "accomadate" China...not knowing fully that China has always been what it was and is now for the past 2000 years...a "dragon" when it suits or "color" its long term "plans"...or a "serpert" when it must "force" thru plans to its advantages in the end...
My 2 worthless cents.
You are welcome to read my post on 'A reminder of what the yakuzas are capable of' in www.mysingaporenews.blogspot.com.
Then tell me who are the real gangsters.
I have read your post Mr.Chua but I do not believe it has much to do with the current Japan/China spat.
You wrote about "The Treaty of Shimonoseki" but that treaty was signed in 1915. That was 95 years ago! You can hardly compare that to the current Japan/China spat. What's more is that in 1915, the Qing Dynasty was very weak and Japan was hardly the only country in the world who made such demands of China.
Hi Ghost,
The days of colonialism and gunboat diplomacy may be over. To many countries, the colonial masters and the colonialised, it is over as the land were returned to their rightful owners.
Japan is one of the exception. They will have to return the seized territories one day. China is bidding its time. Better for Japan to return voluntarily as a goodwill gesture.
It’s kind of ironic what you said about colonialism and gunboat diplomacy. The islands were given to Japan by the US after WW2. The victorious US ruled in favour of the defeated Japan.
Besides, there is a question of "who" the rightful owners are. Japan and China are not the only 2 countries nvloved, Taiwan also claim the islands.
The rightful owner of the island is China beyond any doubt. It was seized from China by Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
Taiwan is claiming the island as it is China in another name.
After WW2, it was to be returned to China but the treacherous Americans gave it to the Japanese just like they handed Vietnam to the French instead of Ho Chi Minh.
There was nothing treacherous about what the Americans did. They gave the islands to the Japanese because neither Chiang Kai-shek or Mao Zedong made a claim for them. They were too busy fighting each other to bother with the islands then, so the Americans gave them to the only one who DID make a claim; Japan.
In fact, it is this incident that is leading the western world to side with Japan in the spat. They are casically asking the Chinese, "If they are so important to you, how come you guys never made a claim for the islands after WW2?"
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