China on Friday rejected a resolution on the Diaoyu Islands by the Japanese lower house, as Japan has adopted an increasing hard-line stance against its neighbors over recent territorial disputes.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei decried it as an "illegal and futile" move for Japan to bolster its claim over the islands by passing a resolution, adding that it wouldn't change the fact that the Diaoyu Islands belong to China.
The remarks came after Japan's lower house earlier on Friday adopted a resolution, criticizing the landing of Chinese activists on the Diaoyu Islands on August 15.
Gao Hong, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the two sides should stop the row from escalating further, calling on Tokyo to face up to the problem instead of denying the existence of territorial disputes.
In another resolution, the Japanese lower house criticized South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit to the Seoul-controlled islands, called Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan, on August 10, as well as his call for Japanese Emperor Akihito to apologize for Japan's past colonial rule if he ever wanted to visit South Korea, reported Japan's Kyodo News.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told a press conference Friday that he will address territorial disputes with Beijing and Seoul with "unwavering resolve," vowing that Japan will strengthen its surveillance of its surrounding waters.
While speaking to lawmakers, Noda referred to South Korea's control of Dokdo as "illegal occupation," a wording his government had previously avoided using, said Reuters.
Noda's remarks drew immediate protests from Seoul with South Korea's foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young urging Noda to "immediately withdraw the territorial claim to Dokdo," according to Reuters.
Although Noda said that he had no specific economic measures to take, Japan's Finance Minister Jun Azumi noted on Friday that the government might not extend a currency swap arrangement with South Korea after it expires in October and said Japan was mulling an earlier plan to buy South Korean government debt.
"Things have reached the point where the Japanese people may not be able to accept the argument that political relations and economic relations are separate," Azumi told reporters.
Huang Dahui, director of the Center for East Asia Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that except for economic means, Tokyo has few measures with which to counter Seoul's actions.
"Japan has been counting on South Korea to counterbalance the rise of China and deal with the North Korean threat," said Huang, adding that Lee's tough stance is partly due to South Korea's decreasing economic reliance on Japan.
Analysts warn that the current tensions would continue at least until new governments are formed in each country, as the recent rows are partly a result of political grandstanding ahead of upcoming elections.
Reuters quoted a South Korean paper as saying that Noda was trying a "diplomatic gamble" to shore up his dismal ratings ahead of an election his party looks set to lose.
Huang echoed this sentiment, saying that Lee faces a similar situation in South Korea.
"I don't think the diplomatic rows will go out of control, given that the US will step in to mediate between its allies in East Asia," Huang said.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland Thursday urged Seoul and Tokyo to "work this out, work it out peacefully."
According to Huang, the islet disputes between South Korea and Japan have created favorable conditions for China to deal with its own disputes with Japan.
"Though Seoul and Beijing didn't coordinate with each other over the recent spats with Japan, it has imposed pressure over Tokyo to spontaneously deal with rows with its two neighbors," said Huang.
Agencies contributed to this story