From Defense Technology News:
Fukuoka, Japan - December 15, 2008: Leaders of Japan and China on Saturday locked horns over disputed territory in the East China Sea, in a sign of lingering tensions despite efforts to repair ties.
The long-standing territorial spat cast a shadow over a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao before they were joined by South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak for a rare three-way summit.
Aso told Wen that it was "extremely regrettable" that two Chinese ships recently intruded into waters that Japan considers its own, according to a Japanese official.
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My Comment: Better relations with Taiwan .... followed by increase tensions with Japan. The people in Asia always crack me up.
As an outsider, I always found the "hate relationship" between China and Japan amusing. Both sides have hatred and contempt for each other that permeates on all cultural, economic, and political levels. When I was doing business with Chinese officials, and the negotiations were not going well, I always remarked how silly they looked in the "Japanese" cars .... the look I received was always worth the effort.
For the Japanese, it was always the reverse. I always enjoyed telling them that it was easy to do business with the Chinese than the Japanese .... I always knew where I stood with the Chinese. As an occidental .... it is never easy to do anything with Asians ....