TOKYO: Japan's prime minister pledged Sunday to seek international support for Tokyo over a diplomatic row with China as he left for Belgium to attend an Asia-Europe forum. Prime Minister Naoto Kan's hastily decided trip comes amid tension between the two Asian powers following the arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain whose trawler collided with Japanese patrol vessels near disputed islands. Despite signs of a thaw in relations over the last few days, bilateral talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao are not planned on the sidelines of the two-day Asia-Europe Meeting beginning Monday, Kan added. “It is important to thoroughly explain the stance of our country,” Kan said. “I want to explain our position and my views from a broad perspective.” Since the incident in the East China Sea, Beijing has suspended ministerial-level talks with Tokyo and postponed talks on jointly developing undersea gas fields. Japan released the captain last weekend, but Beijing then requested an apology prompting Japan to demand China cover damage to the patrol boats. Last week Beijing lifted an apparent de facto ban on exports to Japan of rare earth metals needed for advanced manufacturing and released three of four Japanese detained for questioning after allegedly entering a restricted military zone. The three men, employees of Japanese construction company Fujita Corp., returned to Tokyo on Friday. Japan is pressing China to release the fourth man, who is still under house arrest and investigation for allegedly videotaping military facilities. Kan's trip to the Asia-Europe Meeting was decided at the last minute as Japanese officials saw it as an opportunity to put across Japan's views and concerns about China's expanding military and maritime activity across Asia. Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara renewed his conciliatory tone Sunday, urging the two countries to seek ways to mend ties, following anti-China rallies and remarks over the weekend. “Japan and China, as good neighbors, should seek a path to coexistence and co-prosperity by firmly building strategic, mutually beneficial relations,” Maehara was quoted as saying by the Yomiuri newspaper. Maehara apparently made the remarks to soften harsh comments Saturday by a top ruling Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker, Yukio Edano, who called China “a bad neighbor” and “a country without the rule of law.” Meanwhile, the conservative Sankei newspaper, citing unidentified sources, reported Sunday that Japan and the United States plan to conduct a joint naval exercise later this year near the disputed islands, in a mock operation to regain them from an imaginary Chinese occupation.
