It was reported by South Korean media that Liu Qiang, a Chinese man who threw Molotov cocktails at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo in 2011, returned home after the Seoul High Court ruled that Liu's arson attack didn't justify his extradition to Japan. The Chinese side has welcomed the result of the case. Japan has asked for Liu to be extradited several times. The case of Liu involves relations between China, Japan and South Korea.

The resolution of the case is not only related to the positive efforts of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also has bearing on the common ground toward Japan's invasion history between China and South Korea.

With respect to the historical problem, it is of great importance for China and South Korea to stand firm and intensify cooperation. South Korea's court said that the Yasukuni Shrine "has status as a political symbol on par with a state facility."

In the ruling, the court said that Liu's actions in Japan "appear to have stemmed from his rage at the Japanese government's position and policies on the comfort women and other historical issues," and that "Liu Qiang's extradition to Japan would be a repudiation of the Republic of Korea's political order, the philosophy of its Constitution, and the universal values of civilized countries."

The ruling also mirrors public opinions in South Korea.

The Korean Peninsula suffered from Japanese colonization. South Koreans are angry at Japan's ignorance and denial of its history of invasion. They also opposed the extradition of Liu because they believed that Japan would use Liu's case as a chance to beautify the Yasukuni Shrine.

Liu found public understanding, sympathy and support, after it was reported that Liu's grandmother was a comfort woman during World War II. Some non-governmental organizations advocated that South Korea should refuse to hand Liu over to Japan.

It can be seen that Chinese and South Koreans hold similar views when opposing Japan's revival of militarism and demanding Japan admit its crimes. 

In retrospect, since China and South Korea has established diplomatic ties in 1992, the two countries have stood together concerning issues such as comfort women, history textbooks or worshipping at Yasukuni Shrine.

Although most actions have not been coordinated in advance, the synchronized actions of the two countries have secured great momentum for each other in the international community.

This has also allowed the two countries to clarify the facts and defeat the conspiracy of Japan's right-wingers.

The two countries also face similar circumstances in their territorial disputes with Japan.

The backdrops of the Dokdo and Diaoyu Islands disputes have something in common.

Both disputes stem from the end of World War II. Japan's constant attempts to change the ownership of the islands not only pose a threat to China and South Korea's sovereignty, but also deny the two countries' efforts to defend their mutual victories during the war.

Under such circumstances, it is natural for the South Korean government to not give ground in light of historical problems, and support the stance of the Chinese side.

Nonetheless, in previous occasions, China and South Korea have mainly negotiated unilaterally with Japan over history problems. Japan made full use of this chance to treat China and South Korea differently.

Hereafter, China and South Korea should intensify their cooperation and coordinate their stance against Japan's actions.

In terms of diplomacy, the two countries should prevent Japan's inclination to right-wing tendencies, and even protect the islands collectively.

Although the Liu Qiang case is an individual one, it unveils a lot of information. If China and South Korea can unite, they will contain the development of Japan's right-wing agenda. Urging Japan to take the right outlook on history is also conducive to resolving the island disputes.

The author is a member of the Korean Peninsula Research Society, Chinese Association of Asia-Pacific Studies. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn