http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121002a9.html
Zhou Enlai shelved Senkaku issue at '72 talks
Kyodo
SHANGHAI — When Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka raised the Senkaku Islands issue in negotiations with China 40 years ago on normalizing diplomatic relations, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai's clear stance was that their sovereignty should be shelved, according to his official interpreter at the talks.
Zhou Bin
In a recent interview, Zhou Bin, 77, said both sides came to an understanding that the territorial dispute over the East China Sea islets, which are called Diaoyu in China and are now claimed by Beijing, would be postponed and left for future generations to resolve.
According to Japanese records, when the Senkaku issue was broached in the third round of summit talks Sept. 27, 1972, Zhou Enlai said he did not "want to talk about it this time." He was quoted as later adding, "It's no good to talk about this now."
In Japan, however, the widely held perception is that the Chinese leader "is not understood to have used the word 'shelve,' " a former Japanese diplomat said.
During the normalization talks, "Premier Zhou suggested solving (the territorial dispute) in future intergovernmental peace negotiations, and Prime Minister Tanaka agreed," Zhou Bin said.
In a speech in June, former Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxua, who wields strong influence over Sino-Japanese relations, said that during the 1972 negotiations the two sides "reached an important understanding, namely 'to set the issue aside for a while, and leave it to the next generation' " to resolve.
Japan denies the existence of any territorial dispute with China.
Zhou Enlai shelved Senkaku issue at '72 talks
Kyodo
SHANGHAI — When Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka raised the Senkaku Islands issue in negotiations with China 40 years ago on normalizing diplomatic relations, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai's clear stance was that their sovereignty should be shelved, according to his official interpreter at the talks.
Zhou Bin
In a recent interview, Zhou Bin, 77, said both sides came to an understanding that the territorial dispute over the East China Sea islets, which are called Diaoyu in China and are now claimed by Beijing, would be postponed and left for future generations to resolve.
According to Japanese records, when the Senkaku issue was broached in the third round of summit talks Sept. 27, 1972, Zhou Enlai said he did not "want to talk about it this time." He was quoted as later adding, "It's no good to talk about this now."
In Japan, however, the widely held perception is that the Chinese leader "is not understood to have used the word 'shelve,' " a former Japanese diplomat said.
During the normalization talks, "Premier Zhou suggested solving (the territorial dispute) in future intergovernmental peace negotiations, and Prime Minister Tanaka agreed," Zhou Bin said.
In a speech in June, former Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxua, who wields strong influence over Sino-Japanese relations, said that during the 1972 negotiations the two sides "reached an important understanding, namely 'to set the issue aside for a while, and leave it to the next generation' " to resolve.
Japan denies the existence of any territorial dispute with China.