China advocates dialogue, stability on South China Sea issue

China advocates resolving disputes through dialogue to uphold stability in the South China Sea and urges the Philippines to make right choice that conforms to the interests of the region, said a China Media Group (CMG) commentary published on Saturday.

An edited English-language version of the commentary is as follows:

The South China Sea issue is high on the agenda of three highly-anticipated meetings running from Wednesday to Friday, namely the meeting between heads of the China-Philippines Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea (BCM), the 11th Xiangshan Forum, and the 22nd Senior Officials' Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

All the three meetings conveyed the same message, that is, resolving disputes through dialogue and safeguarding stability of the South China Sea is the shared aspiration and best serves the interests of the region.

During the bilateral meeting between China and the Philippines, the two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the maritime issues, in particular the issue of Xianbin Jiao, according to a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry.

The Chinese side reiterated its principled position on the issue of Xianbin Jiao and urged the Philippine side to immediately withdraw relevant vessels, said the statement, noting China will firmly safeguard its sovereignty and the seriousness and effectiveness of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

A diplomat from the Philippines posed a photo of meeting with Chinese counterparts on social media, saying they had frank and candid discussions.

This clearly signals that the current tensions in the South China Sea are primarily instigated by unilateral actions from the Philippines, and, China, considering regional peace and security, seeks to resolve disputes through negotiations with the Philippines.

A rational move for the Philippines would be to promptly correct its wrong actions, demonstrate credibility, adhere to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and have dialogue and communication with China.

History repeatedly shows that sitting down for talks is the path to resolution and confrontation only leads to escalation.

The responsibilities of major powers in safeguarding regional peace and stability have been discussed at the meetings.

Over the past few months, the Philippines has provocatively stirred up troubles in the South China Sea, intruding into Chinese territories like Ren'ai Jiao, the Huangyan Island, and Xianbin Jiao. Recently, a Philippine Coast Guard vessel stayed at Xianbin Jiao, attempting to replicate the grounding at the Ren'ai Jiao for establishing a long-term presence.

Behind this string of provocative actions, the shadow of the United States looms large. For its own interests, the U.S. has goaded the Philippines into confronting China on South China Sea issues, leading to tensions in the region.

Chinese representatives reiterated China's stance on the South China Sea at the Xiangshan Forum this year.

An attention-grabbing detail emerged when a Chinese delegate directed questions to U.S. representatives: The U.S. claims its presence in the Asia-Pacific region is for regional security, but is the region truly secure now? Why do all the risk points emerge in China's vicinity? Applause rang out in the room.

U.S. officials need to understand that major powers must shoulder more responsibility rather than taking counterproductive actions in resolving international conflicts and regional hotspots.

At the 22nd Senior Officials' Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea that was held on Friday, all parties acknowledged the significance of upholding peace and stability in the South China Sea. They called for strengthened dialogue, restraint, proper handling of differences, and enhanced mutual trust, to maintain the maritime stability.

China advocates for dialogue to resolve differences, which in no way implies making concessions or compromises on the core issue of sovereignty in the South China Sea.

The Philippine side and those behind it, therefore, should not harbor any misconceptions.

Amid changes unseen in a century, implementing the Global Security Initiative and build the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship, and cooperation is the shared aspiration of countries in the region, and China will continue to strive towards this goal.

The Philippines must immediately correct its course, return to regional consensus, and make choices that truly align with its national interests.

China advocates dialogue, stability on South China Sea issue

China advocates dialogue, stability on South China Sea issue

Japanese Army Unit 731, a biological and chemical warfare unit stationed in northeast China during World War II, had a strict evaluation and assessment system for technicians, allowing those who conducted live human experiments to be promoted, according to a newly discovered document of the notorious unit.

The new document was disclosed by Japanese scholar Seiya Matsuno, a specially-appointed professor at Heilongjiang International University, in September ahead of the 93rd anniversary of the September 18 Incident of 1931. The archive is important evidence for deepening the research on Japan's bacterial warfare system and is of great significance to fully exposing Japan's biological warfare crimes.

The September 18 Incident of 1931 taking place in the city of Shenyang in northeast China was a precursor to Japan’s launch of a full-scale invasion of China, and a key event ahead of the outbreak of World War Two in Asia.

The new files include the evaluation forms of Unit 731 technicians. On these forms, red words such as "excellent" and "good" are marked. For example, Yoshimura Hisato，a war criminal and leader of the unit’s frostbite study squad, has four "excellent" and one "good" ratings. During this period, Hisato compiled the relevant content of the experiments conducted in Unit 731 into a paper and published it in Japan.

"This paper is a confidential document written by Yoshimura Hisato, a technician with Unit 731, about frostbite. It was published on October 26, 1941. There is a table called Experiment 5, which contains the frostbite resistance index of people under various living conditions. The subjects are marked with ABCDE, and then the data of frostbite resistance indexes are counted under various living conditions, such as soaking in cold water, soaking in warm water, fasting for two days, fasting for three days, and the subjects staying awake day and night. Such data obtained through live human experiments can be seen everywhere in the paper," said Tan Tian, researcher at the exhibition hall of evidence of crimes of Unit 731 in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

According to staff from the International Research Center of Unit 731 under the Harbin Academy of Social Sciences, Hisato joined Unit 731 in March 1938 as a sixth-class technician. While conducting frostbite research and experiments, he was also responsible for the management of the special prison where the subjects were detained, making him a researcher as well as a core secrets administrator of the of Unit 731. He was promoted to the rank of fourth-class technician in October 1942.

"From the perspective of Yoshimura Hisato, he joined Unit 731 in 1938 and completed a three-step career jump in less than four years until 1942. Lying behind such fruitful achievements were the bloody live human experiments he made. Yoshimura Hisato published at least 200 medical papers in his career. The Japanese medical community tacitly approved the anti-human atrocities and human experiments of Unit 731, which further reflects the organized nature of these crimes," said Gong Wenjing, director of the International Research Center of Unit 731 under Harbin Academy of Social Sciences.

Unit 731 was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that engaged in lethal human experimentation and biological weapons manufacturing in China during World War II. The unit is estimated to have killed between 200,000 and 300,000 people. It was based in the Pingfang District of Harbin, the largest city in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo (now Northeast China, formerly named Manchuria) and had active branch offices throughout China and Southeast Asia.

Unit 731 was responsible for some of the most notorious war crimes committed by the Japanese aggressor troops. It routinely conducted tests on people who were dehumanized and internally referred to as "logs". Experiments included disease injections, controlled dehydration, biological weapons testing, hypobaric pressure chamber testing, vivisection, organ procurement, amputation, and standard weapons testing. Victims included not only kidnapped men, women (including pregnant women) and children but also babies born from the systemic rape perpetrated by the staff inside the compound.

Newly discovered document exposes evaluation system of technicians under wartime Japan's germ warfare unit