China cndemns Japanese ministers visit to shrine for war dead

China condemned a visit by two Japanese ministers to a controversial shrine for war dead on Thursday, further straining already tense relations between Asia’s two largest economies. 

Sino-Japanese relations have soured sharply in the past month when a row over disputed islands led to violent anti-Japanese protests across China and badly hurt trade. The ministers’ pilgrimage to the Yasukuni Shrine, seen by many in the region as a symbol of Japan’s war-time militarism, came a day after a visit to the site by Japan’s main opposition party leader and possible next prime minister, Shinzo Abe. 

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China’s official Xinhua news agency, meanwhile, said the Chinese navy would conduct a joint exercise on Friday in the East China Sea with the country’s fishery administration and marine surveillance agency. It said the aim of the exercise was for “the effective maintenance of China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests”. 

Read more: Daily Times

Posted in: China, Japan, News, Relations, Stand Off