BEIJING – Japan urged China to remain calm and not inflame their diplomatic spat further Monday after Beijing severed high-level contacts over the detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain near disputed islands.
China's rare move late Sunday pushed already-tense relations to a new low, and showed Beijing's willingness to play hardball with its Asian rival on issues of territorial integrity, which include sparring with Japan over natural gas fields in the East China Sea.
The severing of high-level government contacts came after anti-Japanese protests were held across China on the anniversary of the start of a Japanese invasion of China in 1931, which has historically cast a shadow over ties between the world's second- and third-largest economies.
The latest dispute was sparked when a Chinese fishing vessel collided with two Japanese coast guard ships on Sept. 7 near islands in the East China Sea — called Senkaku by Japan and known as Diaoyu or Diaoyutai in Chinese and claimed by both countries.
The 14 Chinese crew were released last week, but the captain's detention for further questioning — pending a decision about whether to press charges — has inflamed ever-present anti-Japanese sentiment in China.
In Tokyo, a Japanese spokesman said the government was assessing the situation but it had not yet been officially informed of the severing of ties. Noriyuki Shikata, spokesman for Prime Minister Naoto Kan, told The Associated Press if China did make such a decision, "it is truly regrettable."
"We call for calm and prudent action by China in order not to further escalate the situation," Shikata said.
The investigation into the Chinese captain's case is based on Japan's domestic law and is "not based on any political intent," he said.
China's Foreign Ministry said Japan's refusal to release the boat captain had caused "severe damage" to relations.
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