The Chinese foreign ministry released countermeasures against Japan Sunday. It was reported that Japan would continue the illegal detention of the Chinese captain, and perhaps Japan's revange will follow.

China should have ready a series of further diplomatic sanctions against Japan.

Detention of the Chinese captain whose fishing boat ran into two Japanese Coast Guard vessels near the Diaoyu Islands was a violation of the long-held practice that Japan would not board Chinese boats and detain Chinese nationals in the area.

Japan is now trying to display a hard-line policy to gain the upper hand. The objective of China's countermeasures should be aimed at forcing Japan back to the original practice. The political policy of "being hard toward China" will come with a heavy price tag. China can and must stop Japan's aggression before the incident escalates.

The Chinese public should be aware of certain advantages in China's position.

First, China has a moral advantage when the Japanese government illegally holds an innocent Chinese fisherman.

Second, the Chinese government has the public's support on the mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong over the Diaoyu Islands conflict. The US is unlikely to get involved as long as the conflict does not escalate into a hostile military clash.

In addition, Japan will have a difficult road attempting to win backing in territorial disputes in Northeast Asia where it also is in dispute with Russia and South Korea over contested islands.

Third, if a series of countermeasures ensue between China and Japan, it will be Japan that ends up the loser since China does not depend on Japan's economy as much as Japan depends on China's. The advantage of Japan's technology can also be offset by China's market size.

Fourth, China's strength is rising while Japan's is declining, which creates a different morale.

The orderly protests Saturday across China marking the 70th anniversary of the Japanese invasion of China demonstrated that the Chinese public has adopted a rational attitude against Japan. While the previous controversy over former Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni Shrine revealed the divisions within Japan toward China.

Preventing Japan's risky move can set a precedent as China is dealing with more complicated foreign relationships. China does not demand more, but it will not surrender on principle.

A clear action from China will help reduce misjudgment of other countries when dealing with future conflicts.