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China's longest dispatch of ships near Senkakus serious, says Japan

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Outrageous and aggressive behaviour by Communist China. All the more reason for Japan to start construction of a permanent MSDF base - housing 500 sailors on the Senkakus, plus a landing strip for strike fighters on an artificial reef should be constructed.

Having heavy guns trained on their vessels may just stop these illegal Chinese incursions into inherent Japanese territory.

10 ( +16 / -6 )

Stop the endless talking and go kick them out. Call their bluff and they will run. Emperor Xi must be stopped now. This megalomaniac will stop at nothing if not stopped by others.

4 ( +10 / -6 )

I am impress China is that willing to pick fights with everyone. This is pure talent right here. Ignoring the virus, floods and even drought that they are having in several regions, problems with HK, conflict with US, Taiwan, India, UK and Australia, they actually still have the energy to create more conflicts. Seriously, where do they get all this energy from?

14 ( +15 / -1 )

The Chinese Communist Party has become very cocky since Xi has coffers full of easy money and stolen technology. They're definitely going for blood. God knows how many Chinese have been slaughtered under the Chinese Communist Party since Xi has been in power.

Senkaku is not the final goal, I hope Japan understands. It's only a diversion. Protect Taiwan through Okinawa. Chinese Communist Party in Senkaku is a problem. Chinese Communist Party in Taiwan is deadly.

12 ( +15 / -3 )

""inherent territory since ancient times.""

This often used Chinese nonsense. By their definition the whole planet has been theirs since ancient times. China is provoking everybody all at once.

7 ( +13 / -6 )

Why all this rhetoric all the time condemning China over territorial disputes, so far we have not seen any historical evidence published or televised, of maps confirming who has the rights over these islands. Quite simple, to end all arguments, all those countries who are in dispute with China produce historical maps and documents from their leading scholars to the UN, and let an independent panel decide and publish their findings, with all parties agreeing to abide by the UN's decision.

-8 ( +3 / -11 )

The Chinese Communist Party certainly does not follow the tenets of Marxism as it has encouraged the growth and financial prosperity of a large bourgeoise class at the expense of the impoverished working class.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

It really doesn't matter how much distractions China create. Kung Flu is still there reminding the world that China will use what ever means to damage the interests of everyone else, friend or foe.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

So, why do we still accept the name “Communist Party” of China? Even “Fascist Party” would be more appropriate.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

@Martins

Go to the UN and wait for reply.

Any other behaviour should go against the claimant.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@Martins

China has already declared that the rulings of International forums and courts which pertain to China's sovereignty will not be recognized.

"an arbitral tribunal constituted under Annex VII to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ruled that China has no legal basis to claim "historic rights" within its nine-dash line in a case brought by the Philippines. The tribunal judged that there was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or resources within the nine-dash line"

China has rejected this ruling.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

all those countries who are in dispute with China produce historical maps and documents from their leading scholars to the UN

As I have stated before in the case of Senkaku, it has always been Chinese until America stole them and recently gave them to Japan. So historically they are Chinese.

Going to the UN? It is based in NY and anybody America doesn’t like with suffer the wrath of cancelled visas, closed consulates, targeted sanctions and threats, (as witnessed during the severe SARS-CoV-2 pandemics defunding of wHO)...defunding of the UN.

-8 ( +3 / -11 )

The oldest maps that China has, mention the Senkakus as sailing-ship navigation reference points on their way to trade with the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa). Nothing about owning them.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

The Senkaku waters used to be Okinawa fishermen's most favored fishing grounds, but they don't go there anymore for fear of being drawn into trouble. One of the fishing boats reported in this article has been found to belong to Mr. Satoru Mizushima, chairman of a right wingers-operated YouTube broadcaster, Channel Sakura.

But why, for starters, did the Chinese coast guard ships act as they did? If the Senkakus are China's sovereign territory in all respects, they have every right to demand the Japanese fishing boats leave the area. But this claim of China's to the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands is very dubious, subject to close scrutiny and investigation.

Simply claiming the islands are part of "our" territory, as China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin does, won't resolve the problem at all. It will only exacerbate the bilateral relations, causing mutual mistrust, enmity and eventually the most abominable consequence — an armed confrontation.

I propose an international forum be held once again to discuss the matter. The two sides must hear what Okinawa, a most important third party concerned, has to say about this problem, either formally or informally.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

@Goodlucktoyou,

As I have stated before in the case of Senkaku, it has always been Chinese until America stole them and recently gave them to Japan. So historically they are Chinese.

Do you also believe, historically speaking, the Ryukyus belong to China until Japan and the U.S. "stole them"?

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Man,China is increasingly getting of control.

The conspiracy theorists must be having a hay day but where there's smoke........

4 ( +5 / -1 )

If this is how bad they act while they are climbing the ladder, imagine how bad it will be when they get to top dog status. You think your government is bad now, wait until they take all their directions from a Chinese superpower that is the strongest in the world and telling all other governments what to do...or else!

God help the world.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Lodging protests is part of the diplomatic dance between civilised countries, unfortunately it is a waste of time with the CCP as they don’t want to listen to anything that doesn’t agree with their script.

Japan needs to push back far more forcefully (and no I do not mean sink them), the CCP leadership has to get it through the comfy elite echo chamber they live in that their actions have consequences.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Now is the time to formally occupy the Senkaku Islands and build up the military defenses accordingly. A show of force in these matters is sometimes needed to stand up to a bully like China. Japan should not be afraid to flex is muscles when it needs to. China needs a lesson and a taste of its own medicine! Repeal Article 9!

0 ( +4 / -4 )

A nation of stealing, cheating and lying is a nation of losing.

For the truth, search for「尖閣」列島--釣魚諸島の史的解明 by 井上清 Kiyoshi INOUE.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters later in the day that China does not accept such protests by Japan as the islets have been its "inherent territory since ancient times."

China has an "inherent right to carry out patrol and law enforcement near the waters of the Diaoyu Islands," Wang said, using the country's name for the isles.

No doubt China will repeat the above when they begin building on the islands, because Japan has dragged its feet. If Japan does not build a base there with permanent personnel soon, then China will move in and do it one stormy night. This is more serious that the Japanese government realizes. This islands will be surrounded by hundreds of Chinese vessels and they will build fast as they did in the South China sea. The day is coming.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Japan uses the island, its southernmost territory, as its demarcation point for a 200-nautical-mile EEZ, but China calls them rocks.

UNCLOS defines islands with no permanent population and no commercial output as rocks not qualified to have an EEZ.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

A nation of stealing, cheating and lying is a nation of losing.

Well lets see, China trying to steal the South China sea. China lying about ownership of the Senkaku's and cheating on the treaty with Britain on Hong Kong. So your saying China is a losing nation. Understood and agreed.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Peter14, how old are you ? 200 ?

Well, China discovered South China Sea 2000 years ago. According to the international laws, first discover, first own. Where is stealing ?

About ownership of the Senkaku's, 井上清 Kiyoshi INOUE is a Japanese, educated and smart and famous historian.

On the treaty with Britain on Hong Kong, it is about handover, that is not cheating, but justice.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

Well, China discovered South China Sea 2000 years ago. According to the international laws, first discover, first own. Where is stealing ?

China is trying to steal them right now by rewriting history.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

The Philippines was unfortunately fooled to file a case in a tribunal court that admitted it has no jurisdiction to rule on issues of sovereignty.

"On 12 July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favour of the Philippines. It clarified that it would not "...rule on any question of sovereignty over land territory and would not delimit any maritime boundary between the Parties".[8][9] "

Furthermore this court was even disowned by the UN and the International Court of Justice.

"The United Nations says it has no position regarding either legal merits or procedural merits of the case. [154][155] The UN's International Court of Justice says it has no involvement in the case either.[156]"

Adding insult to injury was the not too subtle pro-China ruling that said Scarborough Shoal is a common fishing grounds for fishermen from the Philippines, Vietnam and China when in fact the shoal is clearly within the Philippines EEZ!

In parallel it was this Hague Tribunal that ruled that islands with no permanent population and no sustainable commercial output are mere rocks and not qualify as islands that can generate an EEZ.

Therefore the Senkaku/Diayu/Tiauyutai rocks cannot claim an EEZ.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

Hiro S Nobumasa, good summary. The court actually never disqualified China's 9 dash line claim, let alone that China doesn't recognize the court ruling, and China is entitled to reject the court according international laws.

Having said that, Japan, PH, Vietnam have wisdom to share prosperous and peaceful future for generations to come.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

The joke is that Okinawa wasn't a part of Japan historically. It was colonized then, and it was colonized now.

Okinawans are happy to be part of Japan. There is very little interest there in not being a part of Japan. The Okinawans I’ve known have felt both Okinawan and Japanese.

The Uighurs I met in Beijing told me (in low voices) that they hate the Chinese. Unsurprising considering the CCP put them in concentration camps and forcefully sterilize them: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_re-education_camps

And how Chinese do you think the Tibetans feel?

Sorry (not sorry) to point out the reality of how ridiculous your Okinawa comment was.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

This almost Hollywood epic of naval ships from Japan and China sailing in circles in the Senkaku/Tiauyutai/Diauyu isles but never anchoring or sending landing parties there clearly means those rocks are indeed disputed piece of real estate.

In reality those islands really belongs to Ilan county of Taiwan which is the nearest land mass from any point of these islands.

The geological submerged connection between the Tiauyutai isles and the Datun mountain range of Taiwan is further proof .

Furthermore there are many ancient graves of Ilan and Keelung fishermen scattered all over the isles some of which were vandalized and destroyed intentionally to hide evidence.

PM Abe's continuous failure to use military means to drive those Chinese ships away further exposes the fact that the proof of ownership is clearly in limbo.

On the same vein Okinawa is not really part of Japan nor is it a part of China.

It belongs to the Ryukyuan Nation that used to exist peacefully and independently from both China and Japan .

History now proves that it was not China that invaded and annexed the Ryukyus and turned it into a colony .

Even now the Japanese colonizer willingly made Okinawa the Crimea of Asia by letting the Americans built massive military bases in the islands that even outnumbers all the 711's Dawsons and Family Marts combined despite the Ryukyuans demands to relocate the bases to Guam and Subic.

In a way it's Japan that is not treating Okinawa as part of Japan.

https://imadr.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/No.-10-world.pdf

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

If Japan does not build a base there with permanent personnel soon, then China will move in and do it one stormy night. This is more serious that the Japanese government realizes. This islands will be surrounded by hundreds of Chinese vessels and they will build fast as they did in the South China sea. The day is coming.

Agree. Problem is that Japan, as a nation, is reluctant to engage in any kind of military action that it will do nothing except file useless protests to the UN. (And you can't criticize PM Abe for the inaction; the Japanese people, being pacifists at heart, will not support any military action that is against Article 9 and world peace.)

Protesting to the UN is fruitless; UN is impotent, won't do anything and kowtows to China anyway.

If Japan doesn't do anything about the Senkaku situation now, China will eventually annex and militarize the islands to solidify ownership. Then China will be unstoppable and will eventually claim the Ryukyus as its own territory. By then it will be too late.  

Unfortunately the small but vocal anti-U.S. military political activists (who are no doubt CCP-influenced as well) will determine the future of Okinawa. China CCP is quietly pushing for removal of U.S. military presence by fostering negative media coverage and encouraging the anti-U.S. military movement.  

After taking the Senkaku Islands, China CCP will encourage Okinawans to declare their independence from Japan. IF that happens, China can easily claim ownership of the (new) Ryukyus since Japan and U.S. will no longer have interest and jurisdiction over the Ryukyus.  

Will Okinawans be happy being a CCP China colony? Ask Hong Kong and Taiwan the same question.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

On the same vein Okinawa is not really part of Japan nor is it a part of China.

It belongs to the Ryukyuan Nation that used to exist peacefully and independently from both China and Japan .

Up until 1879. Japan annexed the Ryukyu islands in 1879 and it became a Japanese prefecture (colony).

From 1945 to 1972 it was a U.S. territory. When the U.S. decided to relinquish control of Okinawa, it recognized Okinawa as formerly belonging to Japan and so returned the island back to Japan in 1972.

In 1972, why didn't Okinawans, true to their heritage, vote to become a independent sovereign nation and establish a new Ryukyu Nation when it had the opportunity?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

PM Abe is a smart guy that knows his history well.

He kinda knew that Japan not only invaded China but also brutally colonized it and even annexed Taiwan along with the Tiauyutai/Senkaku/Diauyu group of islands.

Moreover he also knew that Tokyo even tried to further split the poor and defenseless China and created the Japanese puppet state of Manchuku.

On the other hand Abe still remembers vividly that it was not China that invaded the Ryukyus and Japan , firebombed civilians in Tokyo and nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki even when Japan was already preparing to surrender.

This explains why modern and more powerful Japanese navy ships are tolerating weaker less sophisticated Chinese navy junks sailin in one adjacent corner of the Sen/Tiao/Diao islands but never sending troops to the disputed isles.

Maybe this is also the reason why those isles remain untouched and undisturbed by Nippon so as to bide time to let the two Asian neighbors find a solution .

Thus China is even also prohibiting protesters from HK and the ML from sailing to the disputed rocks.

PM Abe surely didn't forget the wise advise " to let the future generations of Japan and China to peacefully resolved the issue that the present folks cannot solve".

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

Japan should honorably returned the Tiauyutai/Senkaku isles back to democratic and very Nippon friendly Taiwan and simultaneously re-establish ties with the Republic of Chung Hua .

The Taipei government is super pals with Tokyo so both can surely happily cooperate on how to share the bounties of the isles .

Such a move by PM Abe will only fortify the warm friendship between the Japanese and Taiwanese people and erase any negatives left from its former colony.

Moreover PM Abe will be Time Magazine Man of the Century by outsmarting both dictators Trump and Xi by being the first leader to give Taiwan full diplomatic recognition!

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Well, China discovered South China Sea 2000 years ago. According to the international laws, first discover, first own. Where is stealing ?

About ownership of the Senkaku's, 井上清 Kiyoshi INOUE is a Japanese, educated and smart and famous historian.

On the treaty with Britain on Hong Kong, it is about handover, that is not cheating, but justice.

@Akie how old are you? 100,000 years old?

People moved through and around the south China sea during mankind's migration to Indonesia and Australia 100,000 years ago. If anyone "discovered" the south china sea it would have been them. China has not discovered it then and does not own it now. If your going to use ancient history for your scurrilous claims then at least get it right.

One Japanese who dubiously backs China's claim is no basis for ownership of the Senkaku's. Japans claim is undeniable even though China try's.

China broke its word and it's treaty with Britain, as Britain has publicly stated.

My claims that China has lied, stolen and cheated can be easily proven beyond contestation. Please don't embarrass yourself further.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Hiro S NobumasaToday  09:54 am JST

PM Abe is a smart guy that knows his history well.

He kinda knew that Japan not only invaded China but also brutally colonized it and even annexed Taiwan along with the Tiauyutai/Senkaku/Diauyu group of islands.

Unfortunately I can't say the same for your knowledge of history. In 1984 Japan did not colonize China. The entire war was fought in Korea and at sea. The Senkakus were never annexed from anybody. They were incorporated as Terra Nullius in accordance with International Law with no objection from anybody, including China. Taiwan was handed over by China per the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which incidentally makes no reference to the Senkakus because neither China or Japan considered it to be Chinese territory.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Some one posted a comment, criticizing Abe for not using military force against the Chinese navy. That anyone would desire war with the Chinese is beyond foolish. Another posits the eventual absorption of Okinawa by the Chinese. Which is absurdist. If not mental. All encouraged by conservative political leaders in the Diet.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

"I am impress China is that willing to pick fights with everyone. This is pure talent right here. Ignoring the virus, floods and even drought that they are having in several regions, problems with HK, conflict with US, Taiwan, India, UK and Australia, they actually still have the energy to create more conflicts. Seriously, where do they get all this energy from?

Ginseng? Or maybe it's the melamine milk? O_o

4 ( +4 / -0 )

A suggestion is that the Japanese save some of their older destroyers as they are replaced by newer ships, paint them white and assign them to the Japan Maritime Safety Agency. Their old DDHs would be especially valuable for patrolling the Senkaku Islands able to operate not just manned helicopters but also various small UAVs. They are also large enough to deter Chinese ships from shouldering or ramming them.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

"This explains why modern and more powerful Japanese navy ships are tolerating weaker less sophisticated Chinese navy junks"

Sigh. You might want to examine the PLAN's current order of battle. They have a very large modern capable navy with a large number of very big and capable guided missile destroyers and guided missile frigates, two aircraft carriers with at least two more under construction in Shanghai, large amphibious ships, nuclear powered submarines and large fleet replenishment ships so their naval units can stay at sea for extended periods of time and project power to distant shores. Ten years ago the JMSDF was still clearly superior to the PLAN. Today, while individual Japanese ships are still much better built and equipped than their Chinese counterparts and their crews vastly more experienced and better trained (I have seen both navies up close and operated with the JMSDF during a RIMPAC exercise) the newest Chinese equipment is pretty good, better than most navies possess, and combined with their sheer numbers gives everyone even the US Navy something to worry about. They are better than the Soviet Navy ever was. If the JMSDF had some big flight decks and large multi-product replenishment ships they would be competitive but without organic air cover they would be mauled by Chinese air power and without at sea replenishment they can't go very far from home.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

"Another posits the eventual absorption of Okinawa by the Chinese. Which is absurdist. If not mental. All encouraged by conservative political leaders in the Diet."

The Chinese claim the Ryukyus are Chinese territory occupied by Japan. According to the public statement made by Major General Luo Yuan in an interview with the Chinese press:

"Let's for now not discuss whether the Ryukyus belong to China, they were certainly China's tributary state,"" "I am not saying all former tributary states belong to China, but we can say with certainty that the Ryukyus do not belong to Japan"

Li Guoqiang and Zhang Haipeng of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences both argue that"

"Japan’s defeat in World War II nullified the Treaty of Shimonoseki of 1895, by which the Qing court formally renounced its claims to the islands."

And for the record the Chinese Foreign Ministry refuses to acknowledge Japanese sovereignty over the Ryukyus.

So tell us again how "absurdist" or "mental " those claiming China wants to take the Ryukyus are again.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

@OA:

Who said Japan colonized China in 1984?

Biden ? Lol!

No matter how many 'Terra Nullius ' one recites the clear cold facts of reality is that the Tiauyutai/Senkaku/Diauyu islands are disputed by Japan, Taiwan and China.

The only solution is for a peaceful dialogue amongst the claimants.

Japan as a Pacifist Nation will no longer repeat being at war with a country that Tokyo invaded and brutally colonized in the past.

Nor will Nippon allow itself to fight the wars of the only country that not only invaded and colonized the 'Land of the Rising Sun' but also firebombed civilians in Tokyo and nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki even when Japan was already clearly on the verge of surrender.

I'm sure PM Abe will have the wisdom to find a solution agreeable to all parties involved.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Typo...only a fool laughs at them. 1884.

The Senkakus are "claimed" not "disputed". Only when the matter is brought before the ICJ will it be "disputed". Will your China do this? I bet they won't.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

So tell us again how "absurdist" or "mental " those claiming China wants to take the Ryukyus are again.

Mr. man-in-a-shell. Not during your lifetime will China occupy or inhabit Okinawa. In-spite of the fevered musings of reactionary & conservative members of the government floating rhetoric about China - which references meaningless discourse from a perceived enemy. It is wedded to a queer politics and mindless fantasy that posits an imperial agenda which is hallucination & mirage.

Okinotorishima, a collection of rocks that protrude from the sea during high-tide and many of the other islands will soon remain beneath the waves. All the bantering about islands is about natural resources with varying claims of ownership based on some manner of historical precedent or long-gone treaty.

A peaceful solution will be arranged or not, based on power - real power, as in the marketplace. Any other means will render possession moot - as any military involvement will escalate into war. Which will obliterate all involved. The most dangerous, militarized nation on earth would fare poorly against China. Japan, more so.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@OA

Typo...only a fool laughs at them. 1884. 

Really! Ah ok but then you should have corrected it right there and then just like the many posters here are doin .

Biden-like lapses are accepted and understood and people even sympathize but LAZINESS ? Never tolerated especially in Japan!

The Senkakus are "claimed" not "disputed". Only when the matter is brought before the ICJ will it be "disputed".

There you go again! As I have said no matter how many 'Terra Nullius' you preach , nor how choosy and elegant you are with your semantics by using 'claimed' and 'disputed' to confuse peoples mind the hard facts as proven by the daily cat and mouse game played by the Japanese and Chinese coast guard ships simply proves that the Tiayu/Sen/Diao are simultaneously claimed by Japan, Taiwan and Japan.

Since all three insists on owning those da-kine rocks and all pledging not to surrender even a piece of coral then naturally a dispute of ownership arises.

It's really as simple as that.

Will your China do this? I bet they won't.

Haha! Thank you for giving me China! If that materializes in the real world then I would make you Chairman and President or even Emperor of China asap!

But in reality you are just maybe too angry and excited to say such generous words and is actually powerless to make China mine!

...only a fool laughs at them. 1884. 

Psst ... be careful , JT might not like your abusive and insulting lingua!

But be assured it's fine with me.

As I said before I'm very confident that PM Shinzo Abe with his mastery of HISTORY will certainly find a solution to this isle dispute or claims and counterclaims if you prefer such a jargon.

The fact that ships from both sides are not firing at each other nor making any daredevil maneuvers that might endanger the sailors is proof that PM Abe is certainly on the right path.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

"Mr. man-in-a-shell. Not during your lifetime will China occupy or inhabit Okinawa"

Don't be naive. If the US military were to leave Okinawa the Chinese would move in right behind them. They would line the runway waving as the last US airplane departed. Ask the Vietnamese and Philippines how being militarily weak worked out for them. China has a grudge to settle with Japan. I have a Chinese wife and know just how deep their hatred of Japan runs. Don't get me wrong. I like the Japanese a lot and have the utmost respect for the professionals I worked with in the JMSDF. My wife however tells me repeatedly to never trust a Japanese, they will "stab us in the back and start another war". Her words, not mine.

"A peaceful solution will be arranged or not, based on power - real power, as in the marketplace."

China dwarfs Japan economically and militarily. What could Japan do on its own? Cry to the UN? The Chinese have no regard for the rulings of the courts charged with upholding international law. Again, as the Philippines how that worked out for them.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"As I said before I'm very confident that PM Shinzo Abe with his mastery of HISTORY will certainly find a solution to this isle dispute or claims and counterclaims if you prefer such a jargon."

Mr. Abe and any Japanese PM from any part is constrained by the far right wing of Japanese politics. The right won't even let Japanese schools teach the truth about Japan's WWII history. They will never consent to a compromise with China over Japanese controlled land. That's a fantasy.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"Well, China discovered South China Sea 2000 years ago. According to the international laws, first discover, first own. Where is stealing ?"

Under international maritime law territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from the shore of the nation bordering the sea. That is the maximum extent of any nation's territorial waters. Who may or may not have discovered a particular body of water is not relevant. Beyond the 12 nm limit the oceans and airspace above are considered international waters and airspace free to be used by all nations. The EEZ, Economic Enforcement Zone extends 200 nm from the shore of a nation's coastline. Within the EEZ a nation has the right to control fishing, harvesting of plant life such as kelp and mineral extraction. EEZs are still international waters and airspace in which all nations may navigate freely. Any claims China makes beyond these are illegal.

Likewise man made objects have no territorial seas or airspace associated with them, nor can a nation claim an EEZ around a man made object. Man made object includes the man made island bases China has established in the South China Sea. China may claim a territorial sea around them but the claim is illegal and no nation is bound to respect it. The US or any other navy has every right to sail right up to those islands. Attempting to stop this would be a clear cut act of war.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I read Kiyoshi Inoue's challenging article, "The Senkaku Islands -- an historical analysis of the Diaoyudao issue" originally titled as "Sovereignty and History of the Diaoyudaos". The original article appeared in No. 292 "China Studies Monthly Report" (1972).

Very meticulous though Inoue's argument may be, he fails to prove the Senkaku Islands have been an integral part of China since ancient times. He may be right when he says Japan "pilfered" the islands when China under the Qing dynasty was at the bottom of its national power. But, even so, he doesn't prove these islands have really been an integral part of China. If so, the word "pilfered" is too far-fetched to describe the situation.

There's a lot of room to discuss China's "historical" claim to these islands.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The Chinese argument regarding whether or not a particular piece of land "traditionally" belonged to a particular nation could be used to reverse hundreds, even thousands of years of history. Using the warped logic of the Chinese, one could claim North America should go back to being ruled by the French, Spanish and British since they "discovered" the Americas (or was it the Vikings?). Should northern China really be part of Russia? They ruled it for a long time. Who owned what a hundred years ago or 500 years is irrelevant. WWII stirred the pot and changed a great many boundaries. Deal with it. You can't use ancient maps to justify taking someone's land today.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The reason why I think Inoue failed to prove the Senkakus/Diaoyudaos were an integral part of China is because his argument to claim so is based on how these islands have been called in China. A historical document shows the largest island of the chain was called Diaoyudao.   

He writes Okinawan activities were only remotely and indirectly connected with the islands compared with China, which oftentimes sent royal missions to Ryukyu to crown kings. Tei Junsoku (程順則) and Sho Shoken (向象賢), well-known scholars and politicians in Okinawa’s history, who flourished during the hay days of Ryukyu Kingdom, called these islands by none other than their Chinese names, thus suggesting they thought these islands belonged to China, says Inoue. 

But you cannot use these facts as evidence to prove the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands have been an integral part of China. For in writing people feel they must be as formal as can be, so that there’s no wonder why they called these islands by Chinese names. They called the kingdom "Ryukyu" in diplomatic, formal writing but privately and informally they called it Uchinaa (a collapsed form of Ukinawa or Okinawa) in the vernacular.

Note that Chen Kwan (陳侃), a Chinese royal emissary to Ryukyu, was exalted when he heard a trading ship had just arrived at Fuzhou from Ryukyu, saying his mission could learn the waterway to Ryukyu from them in detail.  So Ryukyu seamen and traders were not unfamiliar with the Naha-Fuzhou sea lane. They were never remotely connected with the islands as Inoue asserts.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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