[Global Times Comprehensive Report] The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister kishida fumio has set off a small climax of diplomatic activities since the end of this month: after receiving visiting German Chancellor Scholz in Tokyo on April 28, kishida fumio will start an eight-day foreign visit to Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Italy and the United Kingdom on the 29th; Foreign Minister Lin Fangzheng will visit Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and other countries next week; Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi will visit the United States from May 3 to 6; On May 22nd, US President Biden will arrive in Japan, hold Japan-US leaders’ talks with Kishida and attend the "Four-nation Meeting" of the United States, Japan, Australia and India — — The above diplomatic activities, without exception, all contain the contents of "responding to the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine" and "coordinating the position of sanctions against Russia", and at the same time, they don’t forget to carry with them the "reserved tracks" of "responding to the threat from China". In parallel with the strategy of containing China, the United States and the West have now expanded the "United Front against Russia" from both sides of the North Atlantic to Asia. Japan, which wants to use the topic to contain Russia and China and try to further develop armaments and break through the peaceful constitution, is undoubtedly a pawn who is at the forefront and has the most eye-catching performance.
German chancellor’s first visit to Asia "only to Japan"
NHK TV reported on 28th that Scholz had arrived in Japan for a two-day (more than 20 hours in total) working visit, which was his first visit to an Asian country since he became German Chancellor.
On the afternoon of 28th, kishida fumio held a meeting with Scholz. According to Kyodo News, during the talks, Kishida condemned Russia’s military actions against Ukraine and stressed that Japan will further strengthen sanctions against Russia and aid to Ukraine. Scholz responded that sanctions are dealing a huge blow to Russia, and it is very important for all countries to keep pace with sanctions.
According to Agence France-Presse, Scholz thanked the German Parliament for its "clear support" for the government’s policy of providing heavy weapons to Ukraine at a joint press conference with Kishida on the 28th. According to another report from Reuters, Scholz also said in Tokyo on 28th that Germany is preparing for the possibility of Russian gas export suspension.
Deutsche Welle said on the 28th that Kishida said at a news conference that he had reached a consensus with Scholz on "opposing any behavior that changes the status quo in the South China Sea and the East China Sea". According to NHK TV in Japan, Scholz said at a joint press conference, "This visit has sent a political signal that Germany and the European Union will further strengthen their participation in the Indo-Pacific region."
"Deutsche Welle" reported on the 28th that Merkel, a long-time German chancellor, usually gave priority to China when visiting Asia, and never "visited Japan alone" when visiting Asia like Scholz. According to the report, China’s policy of fighting against the epidemic and its position of continuing to maintain partnership with Russia have accelerated the progress of German-Japanese relations. In addition, Scholz chose Japan as the first country to visit Asia because Japan and Germany are in a "very similar" geopolitical environment and national defense dilemma. For example, both sides condemned Russia’s military actions against Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow, but the two countries have never stopped importing Russian energy; Both countries are willing to provide materials to Ukraine, but they are all "non-lethal" equipment. In fact, before the German Parliament supported the provision of heavy weapons to Ukraine, German Defense Minister Lambrecht announced on 26th that the government had allowed the provision of "Cheetah" air defense tanks retired from the German army to Ukraine. In this regard, the British "Financial Times" said that "Germany has changed its course in providing heavy weapons."
Cui Hongjian, director of the European Institute of China Institute of International Studies, said in an interview with the Global Times on the evening of 28 th that the German Chancellor’s statement in Japan was "not unexpected" in the context of the global impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. "In this Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Germany has basically crossed a ‘ Psychological threshold ’ , namely ‘ Militarization ’ , Germany has begun to implement a ‘ More aggressive ’ Foreign and security policies will also be reflected in other aspects of German diplomacy in the future. "
Kishida’s visit to Southeast Asia raises vigilance.
Japan’s heart for the Russian-Ukrainian crisis is far more than that. On 28th, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroichi Matsuno announced at a press conference that kishida fumio will visit Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Italy and Britain from April 29th to May 6th. Japanese media analysis said that Kishida hopes to pull Southeast Asian countries to join the ranks of sanctions against Russia, and all three countries hope to avoid explicit criticism of Russia. It is reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to attend the G20 Leaders Summit in Bali, Indonesia in November. Faced with the western voice of excluding Russia from the G20 framework, Indonesia, as the rotating presidency, emphasizes the "fairness of the presidency" and plans to invite all G20 members. Thailand is also very sensitive to external forces forcing it to change its traditional all-round diplomacy. Former Thai Finance Minister Tirachai expressed vigilance against kishida fumio’s visit to Thailand on Facebook, saying that "the United States and Japan are jointly wooing Asian countries". Vietnam and Russia have maintained friendly relations since the Soviet Union. In March, they abstained in the UN resolution condemning Russia’s military actions against Ukraine. Japanese media analysis pointed out that because Southeast Asian countries are very cautious about the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it is not easy to establish the "encirclement network against Russia" imagined by Japan.
Thailand’s Bangkok Post reported on 28th that the serious epidemic has prevented many international face-to-face diplomatic activities, but since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict, the Japanese Prime Minister has been increasing such "face-to-face diplomacy". He visited India and Cambodia in late March and then Belgium, and declared that he was concerned about any "attempt to help Russia evade sanctions". "This may refer to China". The report also said that Kishida may seek to sign a defense equipment and technology transfer agreement in Thailand. Japan has signed similar agreements with the Philippines, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries.
After visiting three Southeast Asian countries, kishida fumio will also visit Italy and Britain. Japanese media said that he would discuss with the leaders of the two countries the measures to deal with the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, and exchange views with them in view of China’s increasing influence.
According to Kyodo News, Japanese Foreign Minister Lin Fangzheng will visit Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia from next week to seek cooperation in dealing with the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict. After that, he will transfer to Fiji and Palau to continue to promote the "free and open Indo-Pacific strategy." Defense Minister Nobuo Kishida will visit the United States from May 3 to discuss with US Defense Secretary Austin ways to expand cooperation between the United States and Japan and the situation in Ukraine.
Russia warns Tokyo: We will retaliate.
Japan’s recent behavior of following the United States to constantly provoke Russia has been severely warned by Russia. According to a report by RIA Novosti on 26th, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Morcourt Lov said that Russia warned Japan through diplomatic channels: "We regard such actions by Japan as a threat to Russian security. Once the scale of similar exercises is further expanded, Russia will take retaliatory measures to consolidate its defense capabilities. In this regard, Tokyo should be prepared. "
On the 27th, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that eight Japanese diplomats would be expelled according to the principle of reciprocity, and they were limited to leave Russia before May 10th. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that with the beginning of the special military action against Ukraine, Tokyo officials adopted an "open and hostile anti-Russian policy". The responsibility for Russia to take this action lies entirely with the Japanese government. In early April, Japan announced the expulsion of eight Russian diplomats on the grounds of Russian military action against Ukraine. The Itar-Tass news agency commented on this on the 28th that the "hellish sanctions" imposed by Japan on its neighbor Russia are mainly to satisfy the will of the hegemonic United States, which will keep Japan-Russia relations in a state of tension for a long time.
According to a report by Russian Kommersant on the 28th, current and retired politicians, diplomats, experts and media representatives from more than 20 countries in the East and West recently attended the 6th "Risina Dialogue" held in India. Russia’s special military action in Ukraine was discussed at the meeting. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, who attended the meeting, tried to set the tone for the discussion, called on India to "join the ranks of democratic countries", supported sanctions against Russia, and urged the participants to "contain Russia and China" together. However, Indian Foreign Minister Su Jiesheng said that India "will not be part of the Western alliance that launched a sanctions war against Russia". According to The Hindu’s report on the 28th, Su Jiesheng said at the meeting that "there will be no winner in this conflict", "the conflict is turning into rising energy and food prices and all kinds of destruction" and "we should find some way to resume diplomacy and dialogue". He also criticized the so-called "rules-based international order" in the West. "As far as Afghanistan is concerned, please tell me which part of the rules-based international order proves that what you are doing there is justified."
[Global Times correspondent in Japan Yue Linyi Global Times correspondent Liu Yupeng Xing Xiaotong]
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