Despite appearances, these tensions are actually being managed by the two sides. Prior to the expected landing of the Hong Kong activists it was reported in Japan that, during the CCP’s crucial Beidaihe summer retreat, a consensus decision was made to use non-military tools to ‘resolve’ the territorial issue. This suggests that the situation may be able to return to how it was originally managed under the pre-2010 informal understanding between the two sides; indeed, Prime Minister Noda’s actions in arresting the protestors and quickly deporting them are consistent with what the Chinese would have expected under this prior agreement.
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