China's National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation said on Tuesday that China is set to send a survey team to the Diaoyu Islands and establish survey facilities.

"It is totally unacceptable if the report is true," Japan's chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga responded the next day. He also added that Tokyo will deal with the issue based on Japanese law.

This is the latest progress by China to show its determination to safeguard the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands. This is another heavy blow to Japan after it escalated the Diaoyu dispute last year. If Japan refuses to bear the bitter result and retains its provocative stance, it will need to prepare for more frictions between the two countries.

China has recently had an advantageous position in the Diaoyu dispute thanks to firm actions such as sending marine surveillance flights to the waters.

But Japan still refuses to carry out any negotiations with China and has tried to get the US to press China to give up its claims.

The Abe government wants to deepen economic cooperation between the two countries, while hoping to establish its supremacy in the Diaoyu dispute.

Meanwhile, it also wants to make fundamental changes to the country's "Peace Constitution." There's almost no possibility that China and Japan will resume ties during the Abe administration.

China should aim to force the Abe government to sit at the negotiation table in terms of the Diaoyu issue. If it manages to do so, it will be a strategic victory.

China may have to deal with the risks associated with this, and the worst would be a military clash between the two. Given China's overall national strength and its geopolitical position, it can bear military friction more than Japan.

For a long time, it has been Japan that created waves first, forcing China to respond passively. Now China has begun to take the initiative. This is advantageous for China in terms of utilizing its diplomatic resources.

Japanese elites clearly know that China will not threaten the survival of Japan, nor will it threaten Japan's core national interests.

Japan has been wary of China's rise and been making provocations over the Diaoyu Islands and historical issues. China is just carrying out countermeasures. Japanese politicians are aware of the cause and effect.

If they take a step back they will be able to envisage a harmonious relationship between the two sides.

If they refuse to mend their ways, they must be given a humiliation that will stay with them for years.

Chinese society has been prepared for the worst case scenario in terms of Sino-Japanese relations.

Nothing Japan does will be a menace to China. Japanese politicians must remember this.