Japan welcomes U.N. backing in Pacific atoll dispute

If japan can make good use of it then, power to them. Its within their little world, and so what if they are partially underwater. Land is land if usable. China should consider themselves served after taking the lands of tibet, uguirs and other peoples lands were taken and held at gun point. I wish for the philippines another island country to have entitlement to the new oil lands.

I stand corrected. Korea is doing the same thing at a much more comical scale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socotra_Rock

Socotra Rock Coordinates: 32°07′22.63″N 125°10′56.81″E / 32.1229528°N 125.1824472°E / 32.1229528; 125.1824472 is a submerged rock 4.6 meters (15 ft) below sea level (at low tide) located in the East China Sea. The rock is the subject of a territorial dispute between South Korea, which considers it to lie within its exclusive economic zone, referring to it as Ieodo (이어도/離於島; MR: Iŏdo) or Parangdo (파랑도/波浪島;

.......

Sunhawk, as members of the U.N., they most certainly do have a right to claim the rules are being violated, and they are.

nudgennudge.

Not so when one of the members (China) is doing exactly the same thing in South China Sea.

If Japan can happily obtain a few more natural resources this way, I prefer it to the WW2 option.

china and south korea like to claim the rules are being violated because they say it is just a shallow spot in the ocean while japan says it is an island. japan should dredge up a couple million cubic feet of what not and build the atoll/island up so its always above the water and call it a bird sanctuary. look at all those islands the united states has had in the pacific since the war that are little more then sandy spots in the ocean with a runway.

Jared, the decision on this matter will have an indirect impact on other disputes directly involving SK and China. They are not claiming the rocks. They are claiming misinterpretation of the rules which will give them a headache in the future.

If theres a dispute it should be with the philipines not skorea and china

Okino tori Shima is so far out in the ocean China and Skorea have no right to claim anything about it.

Sunhawk, as members of the U.N., they most certainly do have a right to claim the rules are being violated, and they are.

Okino tori Shima is so far out in the ocean China and Skorea have no right to claim anything about it. they are just trying to piss off japan for the sake of pissing japan off. the only thing they have to loose is unlimited fishing in unclaimed waters.

Information and a picture can be found at wiki.

Somebody at the U.N is either stoned out of their mind or has received significant renumeration. These rocks don't even stand above water anymore and the Japanese have been building little structures to try and make it seem otherwise.

The spot is far enough away from Taiwan and China, and the Japanese claim is so old and undisputed I would be happy to let it go except for one thing: allowing it opens a Pandora's box of further ridiculous claims elsewhere. I can see the U.K. attempting to claim Rockall again for example. At least Rockall is clearly above the water.

good Japan is having golden week holidays and making themselves feel happy with their own intepretation.