ConflictBarometer_2015

ASIA AND OCEANIA
nation. The ROC government condemned the statement with
President Ma demanding Lee to apologize to the nation. One
day later, the Japanese cabinet office posted 200 historical
documents online to support its maritime territorial claims
[→ Japan Russia; Japan South Korea]. In September and
October, the PRC confirmed that it had arrested four Japanese
citizens it accused of espionage. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary
Suga Yoshihide denied the claims and demanded their
immediate release.
On November 1 in Seoul, Japan, the PRC, and the Republic
of Korea resumed the trilateral summit and discussed economic
cooperation. Three days later, the defense ministers
of Japan and the PRC met in Malaysia for the first time since
2011 and agreed a maritime crisis management mechanism
was needed. On November 12, Japan's Ministry of Defense
claimed that a PRC navy intelligence vessel sailed close to
the disputed islands in an attempt to monitor a Maritime Self-
Defense Forces (MSDF) exercise. Subsequently, the MSDF
announced to increase their patrols. On December 22, tensions
increased when the Japanese Coast Guard spotted a
cannon-equipped frigate of the Chinese Coast Guard close
to the disputed islands.
Despite continuing confrontation in the East China Sea, tensions
over differing accounts of history eased with conciliatory
statements from both sides and a damping of domestic
anti-Japanese propaganda in the PRC. On April 22, during a
meeting in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, Japanese Prime
Minister Abe Shinz and PRC leader Xi Jinping confirmed their
commitment to rapprochement. However, Xi also stated that
the history issue would lie at the political foundation of bilateral
relations and criticized continuing visits by Japanese MPs
to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which also enshrines
WWII class-A criminals. On May 23, Xi held a speech in front
of 3,000 Japanese visitors in the Great Hall of the People
in Beijing, extending his cordial greetings to the Japanese
people and concurring that they also were victims of WWII.
On June 5, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Aso Taro met with
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli in Beijing, expressing his
''deep remorse'' about China's wartime suffering. On August
14, Abe delivered his cabinet's statement on Japan's pre-war
role, acknowledging the country's past ''aggression'' and reaffirming
its apologies. On September 3, the PRC celebrated
the 70th anniversary of the Victory over Japan Day with a
massive military parade. kol
JAPAN RUSSIA
Intensity: 2 | Change: | Start: 1945
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Japan vs. Russia
territory, international power
The conflict between Japan and Russia regarding the territorial
status of the Kuril Islands as well as international
power continued. Throughout the year, Russia continued
the construction of military compounds and civilian buildings
on the islands of Iturup/Etorofu and Kunashir/Kunashiri,
both belonging to the Kurils. Between April and September,
Japanese Self-Defense Forces jet fighters scrambled 108
times against Russian planes entering Japan's airspace. In
late August, Russia and China conducted ''Joint Sea 2015 II'',
their so far largest joint naval exercises. Taking place in the
Sea of Japan, the exercises also included joint amphibious
operations in Russian soil off Vladivostok. On October 15,
Russia held a military exercise with fighter jets near the Kuril
Islands.
On January 21, Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida Fumio
drew parallels between Russia's behavior in the Kuril Islands
dispute and in the Ukraine conflict, a statement which the
Russian Foreign Ministry condemned. On June 6, Japanese
Prime Minister Abe Shinz met with Ukrainian President Petro
Poroshenko, stating his respect for the country's territorial
integrity [→ USA, EU et al. Russia]. The Japanese Foreign
Ministry criticized Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev's
visit to Iturup / Etorofu on August 22 and postponed a visit
of Foreign Minister Kishida planned for late August / early
September. Between July and September, four other Russian
cabinet members paid visits to the disputed islands.
On August 28, the Japanese government released historical
documents to back its claim on the islands [→ Japan China;
Japan South Korea]. From September 21 to 22, both foreign
ministers met in Moscow, formally resuming negotiations
over a peace treaty. A new meeting on the issue was scheduled
for October 8, but neither side announced any outcome
afterwards.
Prime Minister Abe and Russian president Vladimir Putin held
two summit meetings, one on September 28 during the UN
General Assembly and one on November 15 during the G20
summit. In both meetings, they addressed the territorial
dispute, but reached no agreement. Additionally, both leaders
stressed the importance of good relations several times.
However, a planned visit to Japan by Putin was once more
postponed to the following year. psc
KAZAKHSTAN (OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 2 | Change: | Start: 2004
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
opposition groups vs. government
system/ideology, national power
The non-violent conflict over national power and the orientation
of the political system between various opposition
groups and the government continued.
On April 26, President Nursultan Nazarbayev was re-elected
with 97 percent of the votes. Throughout the year, authorities
particularly enforced measures against oppositional activists.
During the official visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom
of Assembly, the police detained the editor-in-chief
of oppositional magazine ''Adam Bol'' Guljan Yergaliyeva as
well as the editors Ayan Sharipbayev and Miras Nurmukhanbetov,
and activist Rozlana Taukina, who intended to attend
an event on Republic Square in Almaty on January 23. On
August 20, authorities imprisoned human rights lawyer Ermek
Narymbaev for 20 days. He was arrested again on October
15, along with Serikzhan Mambetalin, former head of oppositional
Rukhaniyat party, for ''inciting national discord.'' On
November 11, authorities detained activist Bolatbek Blyalov
on the same charges.
Additionally, authorities took action against independent
news outlets. On February 26, the Almaty Appeals Court
upheld a 2014 ruling to close ''Adam Bol.'' Subsequently,
Yergaliyeva started an 18-day hunger strike in protest. The
successor newspaper ''ADAM'' was closed down for three
months by the regional government of Almaty on August
27. On June 19, the Municipial Court of Almaty found news
website Nakanune.kz guilty of libel. On December 26, the
Almalinsky District Court of Almaty put Nakanune.kz journalists
Guzyal Baidalinova and Rafael Balgin under a two-month
arrest for spreading false information after the police had
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