Japan allowed activists onto island for a reason

The arrest of 14 Chinese activists including seven who set foot on one of the disputed Diaoyutai (Diaoyu) or Senkaku islands in the East China Sea on Wednesday shows their move was anticipated by Japanese authorities who intended to send a message of their own, the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily has reported. Japan announced on Friday that it is deport the activists without charges being pressed against them.

Five of the seven who stepped off their boat onto one of the uninhabited islets bearing the national flags of China and Taiwan were initially arrested for "illegal entry." Previous attempts at landing on the islands by activists from China, Hong Kong or Taiwan were successfully thwarted by Japan's coast guard. The ship which set off from Hong Kong last weekend bearing members of the Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands was surrounded by nine patrol vessels once it entered the waters around the islands.

The fact that the activists were able to set foot on the islands was a surprise to many, suggesting the Japanese side may have allowed it to happen. The last successful attempt was in 2004.

This concession was a part of a bigger scheme, Jiang Feng, chief editor of News of Overseas Chinese, a Tokyo-based newspaper, told the People's Daily.

The arrest of the activists on the islet means the authorities had already stepped onto the island ahead of them; a move underscoring that Japan does have effective administrative control over the islands, while also sending a signal to its public that it may be necessary to station coast guard officers on the islands in the future.

It is important for both countries to deal with the aftermath of the landing and not overreact, Jiang said. Both should understand that it is just a symbolic action, which will not affect overall relations between them.

Seven Chinese activists who landed on the islands in March 2004 were also arrested for the same charge of illegal entry. The then prime minister Junichiro Koizumi similarly saw charges against the protesters dropped to avoid escalating the issue at a time when relations were already strained due to his visits to the Yasukuni Shrine. The memorial to Japan's war dead includes among those enshrined there officers executed for war crimes by the Allied military tribunal after World War II and visits by Japanese politicians invariably draw protests from Beijing.