Japan voices concerns over Chinese activity around disputed islands

evian1Today  09:32 am JST

Diaoyu /Senkaku island is 170 km from Taiwan but more than 1000 km from Japan main island. Taiwan Yilan county administered Diaoyu island for ages, clearly Japan snatched the island from Taiwan during their colonization.

More wumao propaganda. The Senkakus were not included in the Treaty of Shimonoseki which ended the Sino-Japanese War of 1894/95. They were incorporated as Terra Nullius* in accordance with International law and no country raised any objection.

*land that is legally deemed to be unoccupied or uninhabited."

Diaoyu /Senkaku island is 170 km from Taiwan but more than 1000 km from Japan main island. Taiwan Yilan county administered Diaoyu island for ages, clearly Japan snatched the island from Taiwan during their colonization.

That would have to be one hell of a precision drop. Have you seen photos of of those islands? The biggest one is tiny.

Your clearly don't realise that troops can easily parachute from a plane and steer themselves onto the land or even land in the sea equipped with inflatable landing craft and then head for shore. Do you really think modern invasion forces don't have such capabilities?

What are they going to do if they land there successfully? The biggest island's a tiny bit of nothing, with no access for boats to drop off supplies. What are these "invaders" going to do? Insult the seagulls by singing patriotic Chinese songs to them?

If the Chinese manage to land there most likely the first thing they will do is plant their flag. Then they'll begin enlarging the island until it becomes a formidable military base. They could install radar, an aircraft landing strip, a safe harbour for Chinese war ships and surface to air missiles. Who knows what they'll do with it.

Meanwhile, you can keep dreaming that they'll just be singing patriotic songs to the seagulls as a hostile expansionist chinese dictatorship imposes its will yet again on another nations territory.

Vanessa CarlisleAug. 19  09:34 pm JST

Until then handing anything over to Taiwan is effectively handing it over to China.

So you believe Taiwan bows down to and is controlled by the PRC. Yeah. Okay. NO.

Never said that. I said that China considers Taiwan to be a part of China.

In fact, the only dispute over the Senkakus was originally between Taiwan and Japan over fishing rights. After 1971 China usurped Taiwan's claim, on the basis that Taiwan was part of China, because of the strategic value in breaking the First Island Chain.

Do not take anything that do not belong to both of your countries.

Build an hotel there to settle the problem...

In the course of WWII in the Pacific the US came to control all of Japan's former island holdings along with Taiwan and Okinawa. When the war was over the then new UN granted the US trusteeship over these island possessions. Over time many became independent nations, others were gradually returned to other nations. But given the hostility between Communist China and the US it is hardly surprising the US didn't give the Senkakus to China. And while Taiwan was controlled by the US WWII ally, the KMT, they were hardly in a position to defend them. In fact if you study your history you will find US forces were stationed on Taiwan to defend it from the Chinese and there were almost daily aerial dogfights between ROC and PRC air forces over the Straits of Taiwan. If China has a bone to pick over the Senkakus they need to address it to the US and not Japan. The Allied victory in WWII redrew a great many international borders. China can live with that outcome or not but Japan as a defeated and occupied nation had no further say in what came out that war. The US should tell the Chinese that we settled matters to our satisfaction at the end of that war and too bad if they don't like it.

Until then handing anything over to Taiwan is effectively handing it over to China.

So you believe Taiwan bows down to and is controlled by the PRC. Yeah. Okay. NO.

 However, Japan would also have to consider the likelihood and possibility of an invasion by air. Troops are easily landed by parachute. 

That would have to be one hell of a precision drop. Have you seen photos of of those islands? The biggest one is tiny. What are they going to do if they land there successfully? The biggest island's a tiny bit of nothing, with no access for boats to drop off supplies. What are these "invaders" going to do? Insult the seagulls by singing patriotic Chinese songs to them?

Think it through.

Just to remind some people of the TRUE history. In the first Sino-Japanese war of 1894-1895 which Japan won China ceded Taiwan, Penghu and Liaodong Peninsula to Japan. How do you ~ cede ~ that which is not yours. China ~ Ceded~ Taiwan because it owned Taiwan. After the defeat of Japan in WW2 , she was forced to give up Taiwan and surrounding nearby Islands. I have no doubt who owns those Islands, a stolen property kept for eons doesn't necessarily make the thief the owner. Yet, I support all those who yearn for freedom.

Laying a minefield sounds a bit crazy. Mines aren't anchored to the ocean floor, are they? They could drift off and sink an innocent vessel from some other country.

Actually, mines can be free floating but they are usually tethered or anchored to the seabed. In this dispute, mining around the islands with fixed mines would immediately put a stop to any Chinese naval invasion ambitions. However, Japan would also have to consider the likelihood and possibility of an invasion by air. Troops are easily landed by parachute. Therefore, as a purely preventative and defensive measure Japan should probably station a garrison there and use a combination of sea mines, land based missiles and submarine defences to protect its sovereignty.

@Paul

The Falklands are inhabited by a community of people who see themselves as (and are) British. The islands in question in this article are a few uninhabited, rocky little droplets of land (barely). The big question, as far as I know, is who gets the fishing rights in the still-pristine waters around the islands.

Laying a minefield sounds a bit crazy. Mines aren't anchored to the ocean floor, are they? They could drift off and sink an innocent vessel from some other country.

Japan voices concerns

Is that the very best they can do??? What a gutless government!!! Lay a minefield around it at least...

Falklands war started because Margaret Thatcher reduced military presence on the iceland to save money and Argentina saw that as a permission to invade it, in the end costed a hell of alot more!!!

Lesson from that is, if you want to keep it, protect it not "voice concerns"

The Chinese are doing surveys and intend on building a military base there in the near future. They first get Japan used to continued Chinese presence in the area, then one night land engineers on the Islands and begin construction.

Japan urgently needs to do that first or lose the islands forever and have a Chinese military base closer to Japan.

He who hesitates will lose.

Vanessa CarlisleToday  11:23 am JST

Simple solution: Return them to Taiwan. It sure beats a war over some rocks in the ocean.

That is not a solution at all, until Taiwan declares itself a sovereign nation and China recognizes it. Until then handing anything over to Taiwan is effectively handing it over to China.

Simple solution: Return them to Taiwan. It sure beats a war over some rocks in the ocean.

I'm sure China gives a hoot.