China took an unusual step on Sunday to increase pressure on Japan over a ship collision near the disputed Senkaku Islands, urging Tokyo to make a "wise political resolution," and demanding the immediate release of the Chinese fishermen and fishing boat seized by the Japan Coast Guard.
State Councilor Dai Bingguo lodged the demand when he summoned Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa to the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the early hours of Sunday. It is the fourth time that Chinese diplomatic authorities have summoned him since the incident occurred last Tuesday. The meeting between Dai and Niwa began Saturday midnight and lasted for 45 minutes, according to the Japanese Embassy in Beijing.
Dai is the highest-ranking Chinese official to comment on the case. It is extremely rare for a senior Chinese official to summon a foreign ambassador in the wee hours on a holiday.
Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi summoned Niwa on Friday to protest Japan's handling of the case, the same day a Japanese court granted the prosecutors' request for a 10-day detention of the captain of the Chinese ship.