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Beijing protests as Japan arrests 14 pro-Chinese activists

Dunya News

Beijing protests as Japan arrests a group of pro-China activists who landed disputed island.

Japanese police held nine more people late Wednesday after authorities earlier arrested five activists on the disputed archipelago known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.Chinas foreign ministry is now urgently contacting the Japanese side to lodge representations over this matter, the official Xinhua news agency said.In a separate report, Xinhua said the ministry would lodge a complaint with Japan but gave no further details of what action Beijing might undertake.The pro-China activists from Hong Kong and Macau set sail to the disputed islands on a Chinese-flagged fishing boat from Hong Kong on Sunday.The activists, who belong to the Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, had said the move was aimed at countering a plan by a group of Japanese lawmakers to visit the disputed islands this weekend.A separate commentary published by Xinhua late Wednesday said the dispute had raised tensions over territory to a new high and said the activists were flagrantly arrested while trying to set foot on Chinese territory.Earlier on Wednesday, Chinas foreign ministry urged Japan to protect the safety and property of activists headed to the islands, which are claimed by both nations.Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters that he will deal with the incident strictly in line with the law.- Japan made 14 arrests after pro-China activists landed on an island at the centre of a territorial dispute on Wednesday, in an episode that threatens to further destabilise already fractious relations.Those detained were part of a group who had sailed from Hong Kong, proclaiming their intention to plant a Chinese flag on an archipelago they know as Diaoyu but which Japan calls Senkaku.Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters Japan would deal with the incident strictly in line with the law.Seven people jumped into the water from their boat, which had been surrounded by at a number of coastguard vessels, and reached the rocky shore at about 5:30 pm (0830 GMT), local police and coastguard officials said.Two of the activists then returned to their boat, they said.Several hours later, a Japanese Coast Guard spokesman said: We have also arrested nine more people on suspicion of illegally entering our country.All those arrested were being sent to the Okinawa main island for investigation, reports said.Japans foreign ministry said it had summoned the Chinese ambassador to Tokyo to register its displeasure at the landing. Beijing countered by saying it would lodge a complaint over the arrests.The activists, who belong to the Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, had said the move was aimed at countering a plan by a group of Japanese lawmakers to visit the disputed islands this weekend.The landing coincided with the 67th anniversary of Japans surrender at the end of World War II. Tokyo is embroiled in an increasingly bitter spat with South Korea over another archipelago.The activists made it to the island despite the Japan Coast Guards heightened security, which included firing water cannon at their boat, said the protest groups leader.Twelve Japanese ships had been following the fishing boat and a helicopter was hovering around, the leader said. The coastguard declined to confirm the details for operational reasons.Pro-China groups have made repeated attempts to reach the islands, but apart from one successful foray in 1996 and one in 2004, they have been blocked by Japanese patrol vessels.Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying said he will closely monitor the incident and that the citys immigration officials will be in Japan to provide assistance to the activists.The uninhabited outcrops were the scene of a particularly nasty confrontation in late 2010 when Japan arrested a Chinese trawlerman who had rammed two of coastguard vessels.Tensions spiked in April after controversial Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara said his city intended to buy the islands from their private Japanese owner.