China May Invite Japan For World War II Commemorations

Reuters: China hints Japan to be invited to war memorial parade

(Reuters) - China will welcome all national leaders to a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, the foreign minister said on Sunday, the strongest sign yet that it could invite wartime enemy Japan.

Sino-Japan relations have long been poisoned by what China sees as Japan's failure to atone for its occupation of parts of the country before and during the war, and it rarely misses an opportunity to remind its people and the world of this.

Update #1: China Hints It May Invite Japan to WWII Parade (NBC)
Update #2: China sincerely invites world leaders for WWII commemorations -- China Daily

WNU Editor: Being condescending towards the Japanese is not going to help .... China tells Japan to set down historical baggage (AP). More here .... China asks conscience of Japan 70 years after war (China Daily).

China And Japan to Hold Security Talks

The Diplomat: For First Time in 4 Years, China and Japan to Hold Security Talks

Senior Chinese and Japanese officials will meet later this month for a security dialogue.

For the first time in four years, Chinese and Japanese officials will hold security talks at a high-level, Reuters reported late last week.

The last time we witnessed any serious engagement between China and Japan on security issues was January 2011 in Beijing. Since then, much has transpired. The Democratic Party of Japan left the building in Tokyo, paving the way for a triumphant return to the top by Shinzo Abe, a right-wing nationalist. Similarly, Chinese President Xi Jinping came to power. Japan and China spent nearly 2 years with zero high-level diplomatic interaction owing to a sharp spike in tensions in the East China Sea after Japan nationalized the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in 2012.

Update #1: Japan, China to hold first security talks in four years -- Reuters
Update #2: China Overtakes North Korea as Japan’s Top Security Concern -- Bloomberg

WNU Editor: The U.S. - Japanese national security relationship has always been viewed in Asia as inseparable .... but as the case was four years ago in the last Chinese - Japanese security summit, the U.S. will not be present. I guess this is a sign of the times .... the U.S. influence in Asia is in a decline .... Asian pivot or not.

A War Of Nerves Between Chinese And Japanese Fighter Pilots

A pilot inspects a Japanese F-15 fighter jet before it takes off from the Naha Air Base in Naha, Okinawa, Japan. (Ko Sasaki/The New York Times)

New York Times: In a Test of Wills, Japanese Fighter Pilots Confront Chinese

NAHA, Japan — Once a sleepy, sun-soaked backwater, this air base on the southern island of Okinawa has become the forefront of a dangerous test of wills between two of Asia’s largest powers, Japan and China.

At least once every day, Japanese F-15 fighter jets roar down the runway, scrambling to intercept foreign aircraft, mostly from China. The Japanese pilots say they usually face lumbering reconnaissance planes that cruise along the edge of Japanese-claimed airspace before turning home. But sometimes — exactly how often is classified — they face nimbler Chinese fighter jets in knuckle-whitening tests of piloting skills, and self-control.

“Intercepting fighters is always more nerve-racking,” said Lt. Col. Hiroyuki Uemura, squadron commander of the approximately 20 F-15 fighters stationed here at Naha Air Base. “We hold our ground, but we don’t provoke.”

Update: Chasing Chinese Planes 400 Times a Year Is Wearing Out Japan's Top Guns -- Bloomberg

WNU Editor: The old Asian historical animosities are returning .... and if the past is any indication .... this usually does not end well.