Some on the Japanese right have been trying to combine the Diaoyu Islands dispute with the "China threat" theory. They take advantage of the dispute to highlight that China is intending to challenge the established order of Northeast Asia, instigating surrounding nations to jointly contain China. Viewing this behavior, one wonders when Japan can move past its strategic immaturity.

Japan displays a shortsighted strategic view in the Diaoyu Islands dispute. The Noda government defended its decision to purchase Diaoyu with the excuse that placing the "actual jurisdiction" of the island under the Japanese central government could stop intervention by local ones. It said Japan is not seeking to change the status quo but wants to maintain stability. However, such actions only reflect Japan's lack of an over-arching strategy when articulating bilateral relations. Its strategy isn't based on the overall international environment, but on its own desire to view relationships with others in isolation. 

Japan's purchasing and nationalizing of the Diaoyu Islands have broken down the long-term tacit understanding between China and Japan that the Diaoyu Islands issue should comply with the principle of "maintaining the status quo." Japan's increasingly aggressive provocations despite repeated admonitions by China are the main cause for the escalation of the crisis.  

China is superior to Japan in size and economic strength. But Japan has the advantage of "actual control" over Diaoyu. It's odd that Japan took the initiative in changing a status quo that already favored it. Such actions could only bring a loss to Japan but are beneficial to China. China has taken the chance to clearly state its stance and demonstrate its bottom line. It dropped the strategic obscurity it has in the past, which narrows Japan's room for maneuver.

Some media and political agents deliberately exaggerate the facts, twisting the Diaoyu Islands dispute into a full confrontation between China and Japan in economy and military, which makes Japan's lack of foresight more serious.

It only took a few decades for Japan to go from the prosperity of the Meiji Restoration to the defeat of World War II and this reflects a tradition of poor strategic thinking. Japan's lack of reflection on its attitude toward the Diaoyu dispute with China may be the catalyst to further worsen Japan's field of vision and international potential. If Japan continues its strategic immaturity when dealing with China, it will only have itself to blame.



The author is a scholar with the Overseas Publicity Study Center of the China International Publishing Group. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn