From The Christian Science Monitor, via ABC News:
The growing trade between Japan and China in 2005 has been matched by rising symbolic and verbal provocations and a steady decline in public opinion and diplomatic ties – marking a new nadir in relations between the most important competitors for Asia’s future.
And the year is ending on a sour note. Last week, China formally declared a policy of “peaceful development” as it rises economically in Asia. But within 24 hours, Japan’s new foreign minister, Taro Aso, warned that China’s nuclear program and secretive military development “pose a considerable threat,” the first time a Japanese foreign minister has made such a bald statement of concern.
