U.S. reaffirms Japan commitment, and China balks
Politics & Current Affairs
Top politics and current affairs news for February 13, 2017. Part of the daily The China Project news roundup "Ripples spread after billionaire vanishes in Hong Kong."
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China upset at disputed islands mention in Japan-U.S. meeting / Reuters
The U.S. further signaled its support for Japan’s claim to islands to the east of China in a joint statement following Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the U.S. The statement reaffirmed that the islands, called the Senkaku Islands in Japan and the Diaoyu Islands in China, are protected under the U.S.-Japan security treaty. China’s foreign ministry responded forcefully, insisting that “no matter what anyone says or does, the fact that the Diaoyu islands belong to China cannot be changed.” The joint statement was the strongest signal of support for U.S.-Japan ties under the new American administration so far, following pro-Japan remarks made by the new U.S. secretary of defense a week ago, which also ruffled feathers among Chinese diplomats.
- North Korea claims missile test success as China rejects U.S. criticism / SCMP
- Two men jailed in China for selling Hong Kong-published books, sources say – case handled by same police bureau as HK booksellers last year, but no evidence that they’re connected / SCMP
- China expels South Korean missionaries amid missile defense tensions – follows last week’s halting of a South Korean theme park in Shenyang / The Guardian
- Opinion: In China, the Party-Corporate complex / NYT (paywall)
- Revealed: Life inside China’s ‘Red Army’ schools / SCMP
- China’s think tanks overflow, but most still think what they’re told to think / SCMP
- Chemical factory blast kills 2 in Xinjiang / Xinhua
