IV

Japan has confused right and wrong when it claimed that China has overreacted to Japan's "island purchase" and that China has staged massive acts of violence against Japan, which put Japan under threat.

There are ample historical and legal evidences to prove that the sovereignty over Diaoyu Dao belongs to China. After Japan staged the farce of "island purchase", China issued the Foreign Ministry's Statement and the Statement of the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Baselines of the Territorial Sea of Diaoyu Dao and its Affiliated Islands. Following that, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense and various social groups also issued statements or made remarks against the Japanese move. The entire Chinese nation all voiced condemnation of the despicable act of the Japanese government. China deposited the coordinates table and chart of the base points and baselines of the territorial sea of China's Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and presented the Partial Submission concerning the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in the East China Sea to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. China's maritime surveillance vessels carried out law enforcement patrol missions in the waters of Diaoyu Dao and Chinese fishery administration vessels conducted routine law enforcement patrols to protect Chinese fishermen in the waters of Diaoyu Dao. These countermeasures are necessary steps taken to uphold China's territorial sovereignty and they embody the strong will and determination of the Chinese nation to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

Japan has claimed that China's strong reaction was beyond expectation. We have to ask then: Was Japan fancying a China that would display obedience and react otherwise on an issue that concerns its core interests, which is national sovereignty? The countermeasures taken by China are justified, effective and restrained. Being rooted on the international moral and legal high ground, China's position has been understood and supported by the international community and will stand the test of history.

China has acted in strict accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and has taken measures to protect the interests of foreign institutions in China in accordance with law. The personnel of Japanese enterprises are safe in China. What has happened are isolated cases. Competent Chinese authorities have made serious investigation into these cases and dealt with them accordingly.

Japan has undeniably committed gross infringement upon China's territorial sovereignty. But it is playing the victim now by accusing China of "putting it under threat". Does this stand to logic? China has never threatened any country, nor will China ever put any country under any threat. However, should any country dare to cross the untouchable red line and harm China's core interests, China will never sit idly by. If Japan is truly afraid of being "threatened", it ought to think hard about how to correct its mistake now before slipping too far down the wrong path.