KARACHI: The escalating standoff between Japan and China can only be resolved if both countries recall the 1972 joint communiqué in which it was agreed that both the countries will establish peaceful relations on the basis of respect for territorial integrity, mutual nonaggression and non-interference in each other`s internal affairs.

Toshio Fujita, a former associate professor at the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi who is now heading the oil and gas division at a Japanese firm here, said this while speaking on `ChinaJapan relations and the current crisis` at an in-house session at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs on Tuesday.

Mr Fujita in his speech highlighted three points of contention between the two neighbouring countries: the Senkaku islands stand-off,the controversial war shrine in Tokyo and control over Okinawa.

Speaking from the Japanese perspective, Mr Fujita said the Senkaku islands (China calls these Diaoyu) in the East China Sea had been under Japan`s control since 1895 with no country staking a claim over those islands. `But when a survey of the islands was carried out and it was discovered that it had immense oil and gas deposits that the Chinese suddenly decided to claim the islands.` He added that when the joint communiqué was signed between the two countries, China at that time did not discuss the Senkakus as their priority was to restore normal relations.

About Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe`s visit to the controversial Yasukini war dead shrine, where seven Japanese people were hanged after their conviction by an allied tribunal after the Second World War, all the Japanese engineer could proffer on the matter was: `Our previousJapanese prime ministers during the late 1960s visited the shrine quite a few times to pay their respects and the Chinese had no issues with it.

Discussing the Okinawa dispute, Mr Fujita took the help of history.

`Okinawa is located southwest of mainland Japan and according to history it was under the control of several dynasties spanning several centuries. In 1609 it was conquered by Japan and in 1879 under a new administrative system that was transitioning from the centuries old feudal set-up, Okinawa like other parts of Japan became a prefecture, a form of a provincial administrative set-up. China had expressed its concerns back then but because it had been heavily defeated in the Opium Wars [mid-19th century] it was in a relatively weak position and couldn`t do much to stake its claim over Okinawa.

Mr Fujita also gave little known details about the history of USJapan relations. `In the 1850s Japanhad been closed to foreign visitors except for some countries. But then in 1853, an American commodore came to Japan asking it to change its policy in its favour as it wanted access to whale oil. Japan agreed to the American`s request because it was the only country at the time that did not insist on opium trade.

Moreover, he added, the US aided his country during the RussianJapanese war in 1904-1905.

Delving into another possible reason for deteriorating relations between China and Japan, the former associate professor said that China is not one big country but four different nations with eight major strong army divisions that have a strong powerful influence on Beijing. `In my personal view the current aggressive stance of the Chinese could be coming from the military faction located in southern china. They could be creating unnecessary trouble to increase their military budget.