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Japan- The government has decided against dispatching Air Self-Defense Force aircraft to China to transport relief supplies for earthquake victims due to opposition from Chinese citizens.
Beijing's reluctance to accept the ASDF planes in light of this negative feeling means Tokyo will now charter commercial aircraft for the flights.
As the plan would have involved the first dispatch of the SDF to China, the cancellation sheds light on lingering anti-Japan sentiment among Chinese.
Speaking at a press conference Friday morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said: "The government won't dispatch SDF planes to China on this occasion. When we discussed disaster relief issues with Beijing, the Chinese side indicated that dispatching SDF planes should be considered as an option. However, we haven't actually agreed to use ASDF planes to deliver aid supplies."
As to reasons for canceling the plans, Machimura said, "Some Chinese people voiced concerns over the dispatch, and after discussing the issue, we decided not to send the ASDF planes."
"We don't think we should increase the risk of creating friction between our countries," Machimura added.
Meanwhile, at a separate press conference the same day, Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said, "We need to make consistent efforts to win the trust of Chinese people vis-a-vis Japan."
Ishiba said the cancellation "will have no impact" on defense exchanges between Japan and China.
After being asked by the Chinese government to provide aid supplies to quake victims, Tokyo had been preparing to dispatch SDF planes while discussing the issue with Beijing.
On Thursday, Foreign Ministry Asian and Oceanian Bureau chief Akitaka Saiki met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei in Beijing, where Wu reportedly told Saiki about growing opposition to the dispatch among Chinese citizens.
China requested the relief supplies during a meeting held Tuesday in Beijing between the Japanese defense attache and Chinese Defense Ministry officials. The Chinese side also suggested it would accept SDF planes delivering aid to airports in Beijing or Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, according to sources.
However, after the plan was reported in the media, many Chinese expressed their opposition on the Internet.
Additional aid announced
The government announced Friday it will provide additional aid of up to 500 million yen to cover the cost of tents and other relief supplies.
This comes on top of tents, blankets and other aid worth 500 million yen, which the government previously decided to provide.
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