"When she selected her wardrobe for this weekend's G20 summit in South Africa, Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, took extra care to choose something that in her words would give her the upper hand in negotiations. But she never got the opportunity to test the theory in what would have been her most pressing engagement talks with the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, aimed at easing a deepening diplomatic row between the north-east Asian neighbours."
"She did not, though, agree to Beijing's main condition for an end to the row a retraction of her assertion this month that Japan would be entitled to engage in collective self-defence if an emergency in the Taiwan Strait created a survival-threatening situation for Japan. While Japan's government insists its longstanding policy on Taiwan remains unchanged, the response from Beijing has ignited talk that relations between China and Japan could be destined for a repeat of their angry dispute over the uninhabited Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in 2012."
Japan's prime minister chose a negotiating-minded wardrobe for the G20 summit but missed a bilateral meeting with China's premier. The leaders kept visible distance during a group photoshoot and throughout the summit, maintaining a frosty tone. Two weeks after the prime minister suggested Japanese military intervention could be justified if an attempted Chinese invasion of Taiwan threatened Japan's survival, Beijing insisted on a retraction as a condition for easing the row. The prime minister said the door to dialogue remained open and repeated calls for mutual understanding, while Japan maintained its longstanding Taiwan policy amid concerns of renewed historic disputes.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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