Sino-Japanese Relations After the Cold War with a Focus on Xi-Abe Era (Research Paper Sample)

Sino-Japanese Relations After the Cold War with a Focus on Xi-Abe Era Student name
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Abstract
Sino-Japanese relations simply means the China-Japan relationship. This is the partnership and co-operation between China and Japan and how it was affected after the cold war with a focus in the Xi-Abe era. Different views have been put across on why there have been strained relationships with the two countries giving contrary understanding.
China claims that Japan continuously denies ever being involved in the war and backing the enemy against them. On the other hand, Japan claims that China's expansion of its People's Liberation Army and the forceful nature in which they want to impose themselves on Japan has been the cause of all the tension that exists.
This paper will aim to bring out the true nature of the Sino-Japanese relationship, its definition, some of the ways they should have co-operation but due to the strained relationship, they avoided it and the proponents of the failed relationship.
It will help elaborate more on the cold war, its causes, some of the groupings that existed, the tactics that were used such as guerrilla tactics, and the eventual surrendering of the Japanese forces. The paper will conclude by analyzing the whole situation and trying to identify who was wrong, why, and what the two countries should have done to avoid the Sino-Japanese strain in the relationship.
Sino-Japanese Relations After the Cold War with a Focus on Xi-Abe Era
Sino-Japanese relations entail the relationship that existed and still exists between Japan and China after the cold war. The poor relationship that exists is majorly based on the view from the lenses of the different countries. Japan states that the strained relationship arose from the forceful nature in which the People's Liberation Army allied to China enforced its superiority over them (Yahuda, 2013). China is of a different view claiming that Japan has refuted claims of being involved in the war and that they supported the opposing side during the war.
The cold war has been a dominant topic many years after it ended. It started immediately after World war II, where the United States deemed the Soviet Union a threat due to the dictatorial nature of their leader Joseph Stalin. On the other hand, the Soviet Union held a grudge against the United States in what they termed as the veto against recognizing the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic (USSR) as a lawful member of the international community. Additionally, the late entry of the United States into World War II which had claimed the lives of many Russians rubbed the Soviet Union the wrong way. This led to the enmity spilling over to form the cold war.
The rapid expansion of the Soviet Union to cover many countries threatened the United States who felt that they will be overthrown by being a superpower and the country at the helm of all decision-making. There was a fight to show how superior each of the actors of the cold war can be. The Soviet Union acted fast enough by testing an atom bomb which is a nuclear weapon that causes widespread damage if used against a country a good example being the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing on Japan by the United States during World War II (Reed, 2019). The bombing took around over 200,000 people in Japan America aiming to finish the war faster and show its power to the Soviet Union. The bomb also caused radiation effects which were felt years later. After the Soviet Union tested the atomic bomb, the United States went a notch high and decided they will build a hydrogen bomb that was tested on an island bringing it down completely and creating a gaping hole in an ocean. These superiority wars led to the spread of radioactive matter in the air. The cold war went on for some time with the American government backing foreign countries going against communism associated with the Soviet Union. However, the disintegration of the Soviet Union into different countries helped end the cold war.
The strained relationship between Japan and China was helped by the cold war as earlier stated. Due to the fear of the United States attacking them again, Japan moved over to their side during the cold war, a side which consisted of France, West Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Canada, Netherlands, the United Kingdom among others. China decided to back the Soviet Union which consisted of Albania, Bulgaria, East Germany, Romania among others.
Another aspect leading to the strained relationship was the East China Sea Dispute. The dispute entailed a situation in which there were varied opinions from the two countries arising from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which the two countries signed. These are laws that govern countries on the use of world oceans, establishing rules on businesses and the control of marine resources (Boyle, 2019). China proposed that the East China Sea stretches to the Okinawa trough while Japan proposed a central line splitting of the Exclusive Economic Zones (Emmers, 2016). This meant that China viewed Okinawa Trough as a boundary between the two countries and Japan viewed it as continuous thus not reason enough to apply in a legal set-up.
These reasons set-up the strained relationship that has been easing although slowly since Shinzo Abe became the Prime Minister of Japan in 2006. Therefore, we delve deep into identifying and defining the relationship between the two countries since Shinzo Abe became the Prime Minister.
Security Co-operation
There have been growing concerns on the path of Japan on the military activities being undertaken by China on their East and South China seas. This has led to China's military 'jumping' over their border into Japan in a bid to test their reaction and whether the efforts being put in building their relationship by Shinzo and Xi-Jinping are working. Japan has been avoiding such moves that require the use of force which China wants to see. There has also been testing of missile equipment in South China near Japan putting the occupants near the border at risk. Additionally, China has time and again sent their army planes to Japan's airspace prompting Japan to send their jets to intercept them creating a somewhat hostile relationship between the two countries in China trying to spy on Japan without their permission.
However, in 2019, the Maritime self-defense forces allied to Japan undertook a ‘goodwill exercise in collaboration with the Chinese Navy being the first in eight years. This entailed using radio communication while sailing beside each other in the water. It aimed to enhance tactical skills, build-up co-operation, and encourage reciprocal understanding between the two arms of security from the respective countries. The move was also meant to ease the tension arising from Senkanku Island controlled by Japan in which China wants a share and frequently sends ships to the area they call Diaoyu.
Co-operation in the provision of infrastructure in third world countries
China has been at the core in the provision of infrastructure solutions in and outside the country. Through the China Development Bank (CDB), China has negotiated the provision of loans to countries mostly in Africa to enable them to improve their infrastructure in terms of railways and roads (Brautigam, 2019). These funds are at a reduced interest rate to make it possible for repayment once the loan matures. There has been an influx of those loans to the African countries which is deemed as a ticking time bomb with many of these countries defaulting in payment welcoming taking over of the main ports by the Chinese government. A good example is in Zambia where proposals are at high gear on China taking over the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport due to Zambia defaulting in its payment of the loan they owed China (Media, 2020).
In a bid to enhance their co-operation, Japan and China signed a memorandum of understanding to work together in the provision of loans to third world countries. The Japan Bank for International co-operation led by Governor Tadashi Maeda signed the understanding with China Development Bank ("JBIC Signs MOU with China Development Bank | JBIC Japan Bank for International Cooperation", 2020). This would help improve the economies of the two countries with a view of enhancing the development of the other third world countries improving their status in the process. The two countries will ensure that there are transparency and relaxed regulations on the provided loans with a keen emphasis on following the laws and regulations of the debt.
Chinese officials attending ceremonies in Japan
The strained relationship between the two countries had escalated to non-appearance on public and crucial events by officials from each country for a while. However, the inauguration of Emperor Nahuito in Japan saw President Xi of China send his Vice President Wang Qishan to represent him in the ceremony ("Chinese vice president visits Japan to promote ties - Xinhua | English.news.cn", 2020). This saw excitement building up on social media with over 90 million Chinese internationals praising the culture of Japan and praising the move by their president to send a representative. Many citizens were also streaming the event through various platforms with videos of President Abe being viewed 100,000 times over a couple of hours in China. The visit lasted five days showing how cordial the relationship is proving to be despite the repeated challenges.
The visit was also meant to assure President Abe that his counterpart...