take an increasingly hard-line stance

中国の強硬姿勢はますます強まっています。昨日の「読売新聞」の編集手帳にあるように，感情的にならずに粛々と外交儀礼にのって対処することが肝要でしょう。わたしたちも粛々といくつかの用語をひろっておきましょう。（UG）
China taking tough line against Japan over arrest of fishing boat captain

China has been taking an increasingly hard-line stance against Japan following the arrest of the captain of a Chinese fishing boat after a collision with Japan Coast Guard patrol ships near the disputed Senkaku Islands.
Beijing has already postponed talks with Japan over a treaty on the development of a joint gas field in the East China Sea, which had been slated for mid-September. Furthermore, Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo summoned Japanese Ambassador to Beijing Uichiro Niwa in the predawn hours of Sept. 12 for the fourth time to demand Japan immediately return the Chinese fishing boat and its crewmembers. It is rare for an ambassador to be summoned in the wee hours.
Meanwhile, Japanese Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichi Takemasa expressed regret during a press conference on Sept. 13 over Beijing's repeated summoning of Niwa, especially on Sept. 12, where the meeting took place for an hour from midnight. However, Takemasa stressed that Japan was going to respond to the case "in a sober manner," ruling out the possibility that Tokyo will summon Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua in the wee hours.
According to the Japan Coast Guard, it has already obtained the necessary data from the Chinese fishing boat to substantiate the allegations against the captain for obstructing official duties. The coast guard returned the boat and its 14 crewmembers to China upon concluding voluntary questioning of the men, saying, "Our investigation is over except for that of the captain."
While a fishing boat is generally used for ferrying crewmembers home in such cases, Beijing airlifted the 14 crewmembers on a chartered flight, in an apparent attempt to "demonstrate the Chinese government's efforts to protect its nationals," according to a senior official with the Japan Coast Guard.
In a related development, two members of a Taiwanese civil organization set sail for the Senkaku Islands from a port in Taipei County, Taiwan, on Sept. 13 to protest the arrest of the Chinese captain. The two activists, aboard a fishing boat, were to arrive near the islands in the early morning of Sept. 14, with the aim of landing there if possible. The group has advocated Taiwanese sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100914p2a00m0na018000c.html