Defense chief: Japan needs to bolster surveillance over Pacific

China calling Abe a right wing militarist, while it currently has and continues to build the biggest military in Asia, is on a territorial expansion program at the expense of several of it's neighbors and is considered the biggest threat to peace in the region by ASEAN is a example of China's stealing while calling the victim a thief mentality.

“Many resources have recently been found at its bottom, not just oil and gas, but such things as platinum, rare metal and rare earth".

Don't brag too much. Communist Chinese leaders are itchy to take over all Asia-Pacific coastline.

Japan is well within its legal rights to claim the disputed islands. Japan is also well within its right to exercise proper restraint while also defending its territorial waterways.

This is a most unfortunate historical dispute, however, Japan is well within its legal rights to make assertions concenring the disputes islands, and China, although an extremely culturally rich nation, and a leading Asian economic powerhouse, most likely would be well advised not to press the Abe Government, since unlike his immediate past predecessors, Prime Minister Abe appears prepared to assert Japan's authority over its territorial waterways and this includes the disputed islands.

Iwo Jima is no longer used by news organisations, better to use the correct Iwo to. Appears the government paid idiot that called in Iwo Jima wasn't a local and unfortunately the moniker stuck and was used by Western news sources in WWII.

Tough issue as both powers feel the need to flex their muscles.

For decades people have warned us about China.

Now China finally gets up and takes two steps off its front porch and some have a panic attack.

Japan's claimed EEZ is massive, and as untenable as it is preposterous. Its largely based on a tiny coral reef that is no longer even above sea level, so they are pouring concrete on it. That, to claim a huge expanse of ocean.

Meanwhile, they poo-poo China's claims to the Senkakus, which they claimed by means of terra-nullius they say. But here is the thing: they did this during a war with China knowing full well the only country that would object to the claim was the very country they were warring with! That is like Napoleon coming upon the burned out Moscow and declaring its obvious nobody lives there so he claims it for France!

What I would like to see is Japan admit that the Senkakus were spoils of war and for China to admit it lost the Senkakus by right of war. Then I would suggest the Japanese renounce their war claims and give those little islands back to Taiwan!

What is this campaign to make China the enemy?

I see much more danger in American imperialism and covert/dirty fighting.

There is no danger in the Pacific that couldn't be solved with good, open communication.

Something Abe is totally incapable of.

control freak: interesting postulation- but why has not china challenged the treaty documents with this same strange thought process in the international court? why does it have to be Japan that needs to "admit" something, - sort of like i have the best bicycle on the block- the bully wants it - so i have to declare that i might have stolen the bicycle and not bought it to allow the bully to steal it legally?

now that is twisted

so i have to declare that i might have stolen the bicycle and not bought it to allow the bully to steal it legally?

You sort of skipped over the fact that you did steal the bicycle, in a world where stealing bicycles used to be legitimate.

You know, its also odd that Japan claims terra-nullius when there exists a Japanese map from 1785 that gives the Senkaku's Chinese names. Then you have the fact that the Ryuku Kingdom used to be a vassal of China, but now the Japanese want us to believe they just skipped over the Senkakus. Sure. Then there is Kaoru Inoue, who was Foreign Affairs Minister, who rejected Okinawa's attempts to incorporate the Senkakus in 1885 stating that the islands have Chinese names.

I find it somewhat amusing that China is labeled as greedy, but the much more outrageous greed of the Imperial Japanese dating from the start of their colonizing period and culminating in a World War is going ignored. That is how they first obtained the islands you know?

And you know what? I am someone who fully supports squatter's rights, where unused property of one man becomes the property of another if the other resides there for a time and puts it to use. But when Japan grabbed the islands from China they did not put them to use. They tried having a fishery there much later and failed. The islands are completely abandoned now. Darned if I am going to support nabbing one country's property to do nothing with it but to sit in that country's face! Okinawa is pretty darned far from Japan proper already and the islands are even closer to mainland China than they are to Naha!

But I say again: Japan stole the islands fair and square during a war. Everyone should admit that clearly and stop with all this smoke and mirrors hype. And once that is admitted, Japan should make a statement about renouncing war through renouncing war gains, and let those silly little islands go.

Why would Japan even consider building anything on Iwo when the island is not stable at all? A listening post would be better supported on Ogasawara Islands.

Japan better beware, as China is already showing sign of building a structure or structures on the shoal they took away from Philippines. I read and read the post by the people here from China. These are not just little rocks in the sea, it is an area Japan does not want the communist killing leaders of China to have access to near Japan's shores as they threaten everyone in the region today! China is a filthy greedy aggressive country, and by the comments I am readinf by China's people, they match their leaderhip identically, and these leaders are the same ones kiling Tibetens and have been killing and jailing their own people since the beginning of time, sacrficing them for the elite's own power gain over the people. Totally ignorance of the people of China! China is turning into a very very bad country showing disrespect to everyone as they see them selves as this supior race they have always seen themselves as being, nothing short of Nazi Germany? I guess this will not be posted, maybe off topic I guess???? Oh well, it is all based on truth

tyvtgo1US,

China are the bad boys, eh?

They didn't invade Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and a whole lot of other places in the Middle East.

I think China is just responding to US aggression and the US trying to "box them in," in East Asia and the Pacific like they did with the USSR.

It's the US that's creating a dangerous environment.

BertieWoosterSep. 28, 2013 - 07:26PM JST

What is this campaign to make China the enemy? I see much more danger in American imperialism and covert/dirty fighting. There is no danger in the Pacific that couldn't be solved with good, open communication. Something Abe is totally incapable of.

As long as China gets its way, good open communications with China has never met with anything positive unless it works out for China! When has it been anything other than that? China, and North Korea, are a cancer in Asia!

Bunchan1,

As long as the US gets its way, good open communications with the US have never met with anything positive unless it works out for the U.S.A! When has it been anything other than that? American military aggression and imperialism is a cancer in the whole world!

Bertie Wooster.. First off, all countries you named have been countries supported by the killer leaders of China and which were leaders such as in China for the many years of communist rule of China, using their people as servants and slaves , depriving their people of all , even basic human rights, and food, such as the great leap forward, which is still being done against the Chinese in China today, such as censorship, filtering of internet, and forced silence or else people looking at political reeducation labor camps. All countries you mention were typical totalitarian states abusing human rights and as going in over throwing these dictators,finding mass grave sites where these leaders themselves slaughtered thousands of their own people. Of course being from such a country that is primarily based on these same ideals and you showing support of such, I am not a bit surprised to read your comment towards my post, as you still support your own suppression today.. I am tired of trying to figure this out about China's society, here in the 21st century. Lmao.. Secondly, as for US getting its way, well when negotiations with China before companies were able to invest in China, these investments were approved after months and months of delegations from the US to China in regards of loosening the restrictive human rights conditions the CCP had in place against the people of China, which later lead to the massive western inflow of investments from countries around the world by western nations and another very healthy investors such as Japan, into China. Of course the CCP does not let such facts be told or taught in China's schools as for history, just like many many other issues and events that does not put praise on your leaders of China.. In other words, people like yourself should be thankful for some of the western policies which benifited you and your people, even though you lack the knowledge of such facts. Of course with your teachings, the words and FACTS will be very hard to swallow. But although this took place many years ago, I remember it very well as delegation after delegation traveled to Beijing working out the human righrs situation in China and of course legal binding issues of such investments. Another fact is, China would still be the stagnant country it was since the communist take over, if not for foreign investment. This was the beginning of the forced openness from outside pressures for the people of China to begin to have a taste of what the outside world was all about, outside the isolated land called China. And again this is a result of Western principals in play where human rights were involved, plus it was also the expansion of our interest around the world. There maybe a day the people of China will have the knowledge of all the facts of their history, that is not today, or the CCP would no longer exist and would not be causing all these conflicts among its neighbors in Asia. Too bad the CCP has been able to keep the facts hidden.