Lawmaker: Leaked video shows crash that led to China-Japan dispute

CNN News, From Kyung Lah, November 5, 2010

Japan, China ship collision fuel tensions

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The YouTube video is authentic and not doctored, a Japanese legislator says
• He calls the leak "a big mistake for the government"
• China has made an "official inquiry" with the Japanese prime minister's office
• Kan's office is investigating the leaking of the video

Tokyo, Japan (CNN) -- A leaked video is circulating in cyberspace, showing a boat collision that sparked a recent diplomatic battle between China and Japan.

The YouTube video shows the same collision that Japanese lawmakers watched on video last week, said legislator Hiroshi Kawauchi, of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.

The Japanese Coast Guard shot the video, which is authentic and not doctored, said Kawauchi, who is a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet, Japan's legislature.

"The fact that the video was leaked is a big mistake for the government," he added. "It is totally different from presenting it to the public in an official manner, and it leads the people's further erosion of faith in Japan's government."

In September, Japan detained the crew of a Chinese fishing boat off disputed islands in the East China Sea. China calls the islands the Diaoyu; Japan calls them the Senkaku.

In response to the detainments, China made increasingly aggressive diplomatic threats. Beijing also halted ministerial-level talks with Tokyo, and both sides canceled trips to each other's nations.

Japan has since released the fishing crew, who China says were stopped illegally. Japan initially accused the captain of obstructing Japanese public officers while they performed duties. But authorities later said that releasing him was in the interest of maintaining relations with China.

The crash video that Japanese lawmakers saw has not been released to the public.

The video, posted on YouTube, shows what is thought to be the Chinese fishing trawler ramming into a ship, thought to be a Japanese Coast Guard vessel.

The Chinese government dismissed the video after Japanese lawmakers saw it, saying it had been edited and that it did not change the ownership of the islands.

On Friday, China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Cui Tiankai said: "I think the China-Japanese relationship has to overcome the current difficulties and move forward. This will serve the fundamental interests of both countries. So [we] hope [the] Japanese side will do everything possible to make sure that there's no further disruptions of the relationship."

The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo has contacted the office of Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan about the leaked video, making an "official inquiry," Kan's office said. No official protest was lodged.

Kan's office is investigating the leaking of the video, which has been shown on Japanese television.

The man apparently doing the videotaping says on the video that the date is September 7, 2010. That matches the detaining of the fishing crew.

The man also says on the video, in Japanese: "We've ordered them to stop, in Chinese language, but they didn't stop."

As the Chinese boat approaches, shouting is heard in Japanese. Unidentified voices shout: "Back off! Back off!"

CNN's Jo Ling Kent contributed to this report.

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Dozens of RI and Philipines patrol boats hold joint exercise

Antara News, Thursday, November 19, 2009 09:15 WIB

Manado, N Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - A total of 13 patrol boats took part in the Indonesian-Philippines marine police joint exercise in dealing with transnational crimes, in Bitung waters for three days.

"The patrol boats include one type B unit from the Police Headquarters, one type C, four type C2 and five type C3 from the North Sulawsi police," North Sulawesi marine police director, Senior commissioner Tubuh Masyareh said on the sidelines of a rehearsal of a Law Enforcement Maritime Exercise (Marlex) between Indonesian and Philippines police in Bitung waters here Wednesday.

The joint exercise was aimed to protect the territorial border waters between Indonesia and the Philippines combatting transnational crime, he said, adding that the exercise would last from November 17 to 19.

Meanwhile, head of public relations division of the North Sulawesi police Adjunct Senior Commissioner Beny Bella said the joint exercise involved 80 police personnel, including 27 Philippine police officers.

Bella did not mention whether or not it was the first-ever joint exercise between matrine police patrols of the two countries.

30 detained after boat chase

The Star/Asia News Network, Thu, Mar 26, 2009

KOTA TINGGI, MALAYSIA: Some 30 illegals, including five women and two little girls, from Indonesia have been detained by marine police after a 30-minute boat chase off the waters of Pulau Lima in Kota Tinggi.

Marine police officers tracked down the boat carrying the Indonesians at 11.30pm on Tuesday after receiving a tip-off from the public.

Southern Region marine police chief Asst Comm Mohd Khamsani Abd Rahman said the boat sped off after police ordered it to stop for inspection..

Police managed to corner the boat after 30 minutes, he said. ACP Mohd Khamsani said the boat's 28-year-old captain was also detained, adding:

"The illegals, aged between one and 48, are being investigated under Section 6(3)(c) of the Immigration Act for not possessing valid travel documents and Section 5(2) of the same Act for entering the country illegally.

"We have also seized the boat. We appreciated the information by the public that led to the arrests," he said.

Anyone with information have been urged to contact the police hotline at 07-221 2999 or the nearest police station.

China tells Japan it wants aircraft carrier

Beijing (ANTARA News/Afp) - China will not remain the world's only major nation without an aircraft carrier indefinitely, state press Monday cited the nation's defence minister as telling his Japanese counterpart.

Liang Guanglie made the remarks to visiting Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Friday, the Oriental Morning Post said, in discussions that took place after a recent spike in tension in the South China Sea.

"Among the big nations only China does not have an aircraft carrier. China cannot be without an aircraft carrier forever," the paper quoted Liang as saying, citing Japanese official sources.

"China's navy is currently rather weak, we need to develop an aircraft carrier."

Liang's comment is the highest-level recent confirmation that China aims to acquire an aircraft carrier, a sophisticated piece of military hardware that can be used to project power far beyond a nation's shores.

It comes after several similar calls in recent months by senior members of the People's Liberation Army.

"Building aircraft carriers is a symbol of an important nation. It is very necessary," the China Daily quoted Admiral Hu Yanlin as saying earlier this month.

"China has the capability to build aircraft carriers and should do so."

In December, defence ministry spokesman Huang Xueping told reporters that China would "seriously" consider getting an aircraft carrier.

Defence Minister Liang was speaking after Chinese vessels confronted and nearly collided with a US naval surveillance ship in what Washington says are international waters off south China earlier this month.

The confrontation was described by US intelligence director Dennis Blair as the most serious military incident involving the two powers since a US spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet in April 2001.

China said the US naval ship Impeccable was carrying out illegal activities in its exclusive economic zone.

Beijing has also reacted angrily to a Philippine law passed earlier this month that laid claim to parts of the Spratlys Islands in the South China Sea which are claimed by China and other nations in the region.

China called the law "illegal and invalid," and dispatched a civilian patrol boat to the region.

Manila may seek US, ASEAN support on Spratlys

AFTER CHINA SENDS PATROL BOAT 

By Christian V. Esguerra, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15:28:00 03/16/2009 

MANILA, Philippines -- Malacañang said it might seek the help of its traditional military ally, the United States, and other Southeast Asian countries in dealing with China’s deployment of a patrol boat to disputed territories in the South China Sea. 

“Our national security advisers are already looking into other options,” Lorelei Fajardo, deputy presidential spokesperson, said in a press briefing on Monday. “If we really need to ask the help of our allies and the other countries in the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations], then we might be forced to do so.” 

But Fajardo maintained that diplomacy would still be the first option in resolving the problem and that the issue of conflicting claims to the Spratlys Islands should be resolved at the level of the United Nations. 

Still, she added, “as much as we would like this to be settled in the United Nations, of course the Philippine government has also to be prepared for whatever will happen.” 

“We cannot just depend on the United Nations as much as that should be the first line of defense [which is] diplomacy, but of course we have to protect our sovereignty as much as China is doing now,” she said.

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