Japan's far-flung island defense plan seeks to turn tables on China

Can't say the name of the "islands" or which prefecture? Hey everyone it's Okinawa. THis has been in the works for a long time and is nothing new really.

Defense?

More like taunting.

Still, if anything happens, Abe will be safe in a bunker several hundred metres underground.

In the meantime the Chinese whine about anything that impedes their "sovereignty" at they grab whatever territory they thing they can get away with.

“We urge the Japanese side to take history as a mirror, and take more actions in the interests of growing mutual trust.”

China is the one that needs to take history as a mirror. They seem to be ignoring what happened to Imperial Japan some 75 years ago when it went on a territorial and militarization expansion and threatened all of Asia. China is repeating the same thing today and is going to end up paying for it.

"Japan's far-flung island defense plan"

This is a very costly plan.

not just okinawa, but all the way down to yonaguni, the southwest end of the island chain, close to taiwan. it's already there, since last year.

A total waste of taxpayers' money. China will just say "Excuse me, excuse me" as it crowds to the forefront.

If you won't criticize China for the same strategy, why criticize Japan?

What's to criticize when Japan is putting its troops on their own islands that no one else is claiming? And as for the use of "Far Flung" in the article title, yes far flung from Tokyo, But considerably less far flung than the Spratlys are from Beijing.

We have to Look at history as it always repeats itself,

Back when WWII came about it was China that Massacred several Japanese communities on what is called China today, there were many wars and they were over the same thing, Chinese people would Kill all Families that would settle in what china called their land, and each war was started over this issue,

At the Beginning of WWII China came to America and asked for help in a blockade to stop Japan from getting supplies and minerals they needed in building war machines, well the United States did come to the Aid of China without knowing the truth, and successfully block Japan from all the resources necessary, which in turns made Japan expand throughout the Asian seas taking many Islands and invading different countries so they could continue to Jab at the Coalition forces, again it was China which pushed Japan into this action.

That is why the Japanese Bombed Pearl Harbor. The rest was history,

This is why we must take china’s actions today into consideration in its theft of Lands owned by other countries, China has always been greedy and has always managed to be that Bully which has never stopped, it is time for all countries to come together and strip china of its rights to many seas and Islands in those seas, it is time to place a Blockade around all of China to the east in the seas to the West in the mountains and to the south borders where every product is blocked from going out of china to sell, this is the peaceful way is paralyzing China as with no money coming into the country yo are fighting a war without bullets which is the proper way, but if need be it surly is time to use force if China continues on its path of destruction of anyone’s equipment,

China should be made to move back into its 200 mile limit as stated in International Laws. China is no different that any other country, China is a single force which could be taken out as fast as missiles can be launched from the North from the west and from the south,

China will never change till the international community changes it themselves, China should be made to pay extreme damages to every country and to the Countries which have coral destroyed on their lands which is in the billions of US Dollars.

Ask one question; Who does China think it is by hurting , stealing , and Bulling other nations. Just maybe it is time for France to launch its long range Bombers to fly over the Island chains now just to show China every country is watching this very closely and will not tolerate the actions of China and its Security forces.

A total waste of taxpayers' money. China will just say "Excuse me, excuse me" as it crowds to the forefront.

That would be a first, a Chinese saying "excuse me" before pushing and elbowing past you to the front of the line

Although I think Japan stirred up this particular kettle with their initial nationalization of the Senkaku / Diaoyudao Islands, this is one time I agree with pushing back. It doesn't matter who started this one. China will keep pushing out to control the entire region if not given a not-so-gentle nudge back.

Joseph12345 DEC. 20, 2015 - 12:28PM JST This is why we must take china’s actions today into consideration in its theft of Lands owned by other countries, China has always been greedy and has always managed to be that Bully which has never stopped, it is time for all countries to come together and strip china of its rights to many seas and Islands in those seas,

Then why until 1900, Japan refer to the islands around Taiwan with Chinese names? The Japanese name “Senkaku Islands” itself was first introduced in 1900 by academic Kuroiwa Hisashi and adopted by the Japanese government thereafter. Why suddenly Diaoyu/Senkaku became terra nullius after 1894 when Japan annexed Taiwan and other islands? Clearly, the exercise was to pre-empt any counterclaims by China or to legalize what they were stealing Japan surveyed the islands for 10 years and determined that they were uninhabited. That being the case, in 1895 it erected a sovereignty marker that formally incorporated the islands into Japanese territory.

Before Japan defeated China in 1894, Japan went surveying the islands in the East China Sea. the Chinese named since Ming period as the Diaoyu centuries back. Therefore, in 1884 Japan took an interest on Diaoyu ten years before she defeated China in 1894 in the First Sino-Japanese War. China used it as a marker in its route from Fuzhou to Naha, now in present-day Okinawa, and where occasion demands, its fisherman would seek temporary refuge from the raging sea storms, thus its name Diaoyu means “Fishing Platform.”

It just does not make sense that the Japanese, with nothing to gain, would spend ten years meticulously surveying the islands before 1894. Oil or gas had not been discovered or reported to be around the vicinity for Japan to be interested, at that point of time the need for fossil energy was not critical to Japan. Why would Japan embark on a non-viable survey for ten years to determine without any doubt that Diaoyu was terra nullius? If, as Japan claims, the ten years spent surveying the islands would mean they were likely to encounter Chinese fisherman taking shelter there in a storm and not actually terra nullius, would Japan have accepted that the islands were visited by Chinese fishermen?

Then why Japan did not lay claim to Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands before 1894 the year Japan vanquished Qing China’s navy? Why wait until 1896 after Japan forced an unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki on China in 1895 to pass an imperial decree to make Diaoyu a Japanese territory? Surely it is obvious that Japan had not surveyed Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands to verify that it is no man’s land or uninhabited, because Japan could not as Japan knew the islands belong to China.

That accounts why Japan could not claim to discover the islands unless by outright war of conquest, which Japan did in 1894, and issued an imperial decree in 1896 to make Diaoyu a part of the Japanese Empire after the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki. Thus it would appear to me Japan is disingenuous, as Japan well knew long before her 1894 defeat of China, the Senkaku Islands were named as Diaoyu, a fishing platform for Chinese fishermen to take refuge in storms and route markers. To say Japan surveyed ten years the islands she called Senkaku Islands was a pretence Japan did not hear of the name Diaoyu used by China centuries before Japan called it Senkaku Islands.

The truth is very much lacking from Japan. Now, why terra nullius and not res nullius (a thing that has no owner)? To claim terra nullius is to say no one ever lived there before, and at the point of time, the discovery was made. Thus, having ‘proved’ terra nullius, Japan purported to land in Diaoyu and claims it as a discovery. That was what precisely Japan trying to legitimise their theft and answerable to no one with what is suspiciously a big lie.

Japan can do whatever they want on their own undisputed islands

I pray in earnest that before any war breaks out , one of these countries would go just flat- broke, ala US ( Reagan) - USSR Star wars. Whoever the rabbid- dog is, hope will be the one to be church- mouse broke.

not just okinawa, but all the way down to yonaguni, the southwest end of the island chain, close to taiwan. it's already there, since last year.

FYI Yonaguni is a part of Okinawa

After WW II, Article 9 of Japanese Institution may have helped most Japanese to enjoy peaceful time in pacifism. However since 1937, almost all Chinese impose a special hatred on Japanese from their bones and genes. As the intensity of this hatred soars in sync with China military might, there will be time it will burst. The energy released from the bursting can induce someone to press that special Button that may have the potential to cause immeasurable damage to Japan, its allies and the world. Based on what Xi Jinping has accomplished, he may be the good candidate to put his finger on that Button. Shinzo Abe has done all the right things to pull his fellow men out of their sleeping in pacifism, and play significant roles to promote peace and protect freedom of navigation. It is impossible to control or advise Chinese to change their compassionate nature because it is their own karma, which they have to bear as long as they still keep that hatred in their hearts, but there are many ways to contain the rise of China military power. Do not buy made in China product is one simple example, no money no power.

Mike CritchleyDec. 20, 2015 - 01:46PM JST Although I think Japan stirred up this particular kettle with their initial nationalization of the Senkaku

Yea, Japan "stirred this up" by the Japanese government buying a few of the islands from their JAPANESE OWERS. Hell the Japanese Government AREADY owned one of the islands which the US use for live bombings training. And China recognized them as Japanese islands right through the 1950s and 60s. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that China USED this issue to rip up the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Friendship they signed in 1972 and even reaffirmed in 1978. The Chinese PLAN decided that it was time to implement the nine dash line, and China's actions since the Senkaku row 5 years ago prove that this was all part of a planned offensive.

Countless arguments about Japan having "stolen" the Senkakus are pure nonsense. In 1895 a victorious Japan got a defeated China (Ching Dynasty) to cede many territories including Taiwan. If for a moment Japan actually thought China owned or controlled the Senkakus, all the hadto do was add it to their list of demands. Instead they wasted years and efforts to establish the Terra Nullius status and get it approved by international protocol. The fact is that there is no evidence of China ever having inhabited the islands, the only evidence being the remnants of a Japanese fish factory. China's usual "since ancient times: arguments rest on purported sightings of the islands, and even that is not definite. It is China that is attempting to steal these islands for economic and military reasons, just like they are doing to other Asian nations in the South China Sea as well.

DeanTranDec. 21, 2015 - 12:42AM JST After WW II, Article 9 of Japanese Institution may have helped most Japanese to enjoy peaceful time in pacifism. >However since 1937, almost all Chinese impose a special hatred on Japanese from their bones and genes. As the >intensity of this hatred soars in sync with China military might, there will be time it will burst.

Incorrect. PM Tanaka met with Mao Tse Tung and Chou En Lai in 1972 and both nations signed the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Friendship. China even reaffirmed it in 1978. Throughout the 1980s/90s China relied on Japanese investment, assistance, technology to get off it's backwards economic knees, Having reached their goal in 2000, by 2004 the PLA generals and admirals were already talking about breaking the First Island Chain and pushing the United States out of the western Pacific.Hatred for Japan was and remains a deliberate State orchestrated policy to keep the population off the CCP"s backs for issues like an economic downtrend or lack of breathable air. Do Chinese "hate" Japan? The sheer numbers of Chinese tourists in Japan clearly indicate otherwise.

Good! It's about time Japan stood up to China's aggressive militarism. China is trying to dominate the region and must be stopped, for the sake of ALL the countries in that area. China's actions are utterly unacceptable.

Those so called missles batteries islands are undefendable sitting ducks (or rocks). They are so far from the Japan main island and can be bombed by the Chinese to disappear from the face of the map. US and Japan appear to be very naive about this. This is 2015, not 1895 ! Its about time for US to focus its business at home instead of stirring the pot all over the world, again and again. It cost US trillions of dollars in Iraq and Afganistan and now has to pack its bag there. Its strength has been forever weakened due to it.

decibelDec. 22, 2015 - 02:24AM JST Those so called missles batteries islands are undefendable sitting ducks (or rocks). They are so far from the Japan main >island and can be bombed by the Chinese to disappear from the face of the map. US and Japan appear to be very naive >about this.

99% of fixed defensive assets anywhere cane be bombed off the face of the map. To be invulnerable to attack is not their purpose. The goal is to influence the Chinese PLAN's navigational routing by forcing them to take them into account.

Augh, the type 88 and type 10 anti ship missiles are mobile in which the missile launchers are situated on 16 wheelers and can be moved from one location to the next. So are close range surface to air missiles. Unless they bomb it with nukes they have the possibility of survival without knowledge of their exact location right before the attack.