【英语中国】中国抗议日本逮捕中国渔船船长

Beijing has made a “strong protest” to Tokyo after Japanese authorities arrested the captain of a Chinese fishing boat that collided with Japanese coastguard boats in contested waters of the East China Sea.

The dispute following the encounter near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands on Tuesday highlights the tensions between China and Japan over territorial issues. Maritime disputes are seen as a dangerous potential flashpoint between east Asia’s pre- eminent powers.

In a sign that the dispute could escalate, Chinese protesters staged a small demonstration outside Japan’s embassy in Beijing to demand the release of the captain.

Even before his arrest on suspicion of “obstructing public duties”, China’s foreign ministry had summoned Uichiro Niwa, Japan’s new ambassador to Beijing, to protest against the interception of its fishing boats near the disputed island group, known in Chinese as the Diaoyu Islands.

After the captain’s arrest, the Chinese foreign ministry lodged a stronger protest. Hu Zhengyue, a senior foreign ministry official, demanded that Japan immediately release the ship and its crew, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency.

Japan’s chief cabinet secretary said Tokyo did not expect the incident to affect diplomatic ties or efforts to ease territorial tensions through joint development of East China Sea natural gas resources.

Yoshito Sengoku said both sides were seeking to avoid an escalation. He added it was important that the issue was “handled calmly” in Japan.

About 40 people held a short protest outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Wednesday. Witnesses said the participants, mostly young men, approached in a “very orderly fashion”. Some wore T-shirts carrying the words “China’s Diaoyu Islands”.

Discussions on Chinese internet sites, a frequent forum for public debate and expressions of nationalism, watched closely by the government as it forms policy, was muted.

“Don’t forget the national disgrace! Return our territory!” wrote one commentator on the Strong Country Forum, an online community run by the Communist party mouthpiece People’s Daily newspaper where anti-Japanese comment is regularly found.

A netizen on Tiexue, a similar forum, raged against “Japanese devils”. But such comments appeared mainly limited to such nationalist sites.

Japanese authorities say the fishing boat was operating illegally and collided with coastguard vessels that sought to stop it for inspection. No one was injured. Chinese reports have referred to the coastguard vessels colliding with the fishing boat while “illegally” attempting to intercept it.

Friction at overlapping territorial claims will further complicate the efforts of Tokyo’s Democratic party-led government to improve ties with its most important neighbour.

Before last year’s general election, the Democratic party promised to create a better relationship with China and other regional powers, but progress has been limited.

Concerns at China’s emergence as a naval power were heightened in April when a Chinese helicopter came within 90 metres of a Japanese destroyer in the East China Sea.

中国已向日本提出“强烈抗议”，此前日方逮捕了在东海争议水域与日本海上保安厅巡视船相撞的一艘中国渔船的船长。

周二在靠近日本控制的钓鱼岛(Senkaku Islands)附近发生的这起事件所引发的纠纷，突显出中国与日本在领土问题上的紧张关系。海事纠纷被视为东亚两个强国之间危险的潜在爆发点。

在日本驻北京大使馆外，中国抗议者举行了一场小型示威，要求释放上述渔船船长，这个迹象显示，上述纠纷有可能升级。

甚至在日方以涉嫌“妨碍执行公务”为由逮捕这名船长之前，中国外交部就已召见日本驻华大使丹羽宇一郎(Uichiro Niwa)，抗议日方在有争议的钓鱼岛附近拦截中国渔船。

渔船船长被捕后，中国外交部提出了更强烈的抗议。据中国官方的新华社报道，中国外交部部长助理胡正跃要求日方立即放人放船。

日本内阁官房长官仙谷由人(Yoshito Sengoku)表示，东京方面预期这起事件不会影响日中外交关系，或通过联合开发东海天然气资源而缓解领土紧张的努力。

仙谷由人称，双方都在力求避免事态升级。他补充说，让这件事在日本得到“冷静处理”十分重要。

周三，约有40人在日本驻北京的大使馆外举行了一场短时间的抗议。目击者表示，参与者多数是年轻男子，他们“非常有秩序”地走近使馆。其中一些人身穿印有“中国的钓鱼岛”字样的T恤。

在中国的互联网论坛上，人们的讨论相当低调。这些网上论坛往往是公众辩论和表达民族主义情绪的场合，政府在拟定政策之际会予以密切关注。

“不要忘记国耻！还我领土！”一名评论人士在强国论坛上写道。这个网上论坛由中共机关报《人民日报》运行，经常会出现反日言论。

在类似的铁血论坛上，一名网民对“日本鬼子”怒不可遏。但这些言论似乎主要局限于此类民族主义网站。

日本官方表示，那艘渔船当时在非法作业，还与试图让它停下接受检查的海上保安厅巡视船碰撞。事件中无人受伤。中国方面的报道称，日本巡视船在“非法”企图拦截中国渔船时，与后者碰撞。

在领土主权要求方面的摩擦，将使日本民主党政府与最重要邻国改善关系的努力变得更为复杂。

去年大选前，民主党曾承诺与中国及其它亚洲强国创建更好的关系，但迄今进展有限。

对中国海军力量崛起的担忧在今年4月加剧。当时，一架中国直升机在东海飞到距离一艘日本驱逐舰不到90米的地方。

译者/和风