Growing tension over the Senkaku islands

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Dec 9, 2008
China dismisses Japan protest


Japan said on Monday it had lodged a formal protest with Beijing about the 'extremely regrettable' presence of the Chinese survey ships (pictured: Haijian No. 46) near the Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea. -- PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIJING - CHINA has dismissed a Japanese protest over two Chinese ships that entered what Tokyo considers its waters, with Beijing reiterating its own territorial claims to the area, state media reported.

Japan said on Monday it had lodged a formal protest with Beijing about the 'extremely regrettable' presence of the Chinese survey ships near the Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea.

But a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the ships were carrying out normal activities in Chinese waters, Xinhua news agency said late Monday.

'Since ancient times, the Diaoyu islands have been part of Chinese territory,' spokesman Liu Jianchao was quoted saying.

'The Chinese ships were in Chinese territorial waters carrying our normal cruising activities that are beyond reproach.' The Xinhua report gave no other details.

It was the first time since February 2007 that Japan has spotted Chinese survey ships near the disputed islands, known as the Senkaku islands in Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso called it 'an obvious intrusion'.

The two ships were spotted on Monday morning by the Japanese coast guard six kilometres southeast of the uninhabited chain of islands, which are claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan.

'Such activities by Chinese ships are extremely regrettable. We are demanding the Chinese government order their immediate withdrawal,' government spokesman Takeo Kawamura said on Monday.

A Japanese patrol vessel issued verbal warnings to the two ships, which both belonged to the Chinese government, a Japan coast guard official said. The vessels later left the area.

Japan has made similar protests in the past but the two countries have been working to improve ties recently. -- AFP

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_312211.html

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Japan concerned over Taiwan's growing ties with China

Taiwan has moved to quell fears in Japan that it is turning its back on its former ally in favour of China, despite growing evidence that Taipei and Beijing have deepened both their economic and poitical ties.

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Last Updated: 6:06AM GMT 09 Dec 2008

Wu Poh-hsiung, chairman of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang party, arrived in Japan on Sunday for a seven-day official visit and is holding talks with senior officials of Japan's political parties.

"He is trying to explain Taiwan's policies towards Japan and mainland China, as well as our relationship with the United States," said Chu Wen-chin, a spokesman for the Taiwanese mission in Tokyo.

"He says that Japan should not worry because Taiwan is only talking with mainland China about economic exchanges, not political issues," he said.

Two months after the Kuomintang's Ma Ying-jeou was sworn in as president in May, direct flights were started between Taiwan and mainland China.

Those 36 weekly flights are to be increased to 108 on Monday, underlining the level of demand, particularly in business circles.

It has not gone unremarked here, however, that Mr Wu has been instrumental in building bridges with Beijing and made a historic trip to China to meet President Hu Jintao shortly after Mr Ma was elected.

The meeting was the first between officials of the two nations' ruling parties in nearly six fractious decades.

One of the reasons that Washington has historically stationed the 7th Fleet in Japan, with as many as 60 warships and 350 aircraft, is to prevent a conflict breaking out across the Taiwan Straits.

China considers Taiwan to be a renegade province and has, in the past, threatened to use force to bring it to heel. The present Taiwanese government is following a more placatory path than its predecessors, vowing not to proclaim independence, not to demand reunification under its own system and not to use military forces.

Yet many in Japan believe that Beijing anticipates that luring Taiwan into a closer economic relationship will render the island increasingly reliant on the mainland.

"The Chinese Communist Party is cleverly seeking to get Taiwan by whatever means possible," said Yoichi Shimada, a professor of international relations at Fukui Prefectural University.

"Beijing has not abandoned its territorial ambitions," he said.
"Beijing has gone from a policy of confrontation to cooperation to give the impression that they want the peaceful advancement of Taiwan, so both Japan and Taiwan need to be very careful."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ith-China.html

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Spokesman: Chinese maritime patrol near Diaoyu Islands irreproachable

www.chinaview.cn 2008-12-09 01:15:39

BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The patrol of Chinese ships in its territorial waters is irreproachable, said a Foreign Ministry spokesman Monday night.

The comment by spokesman Liu Jianchao came in response to a question regarding the reported marine surveillance by Chinese ships in the seas near the Diaoyu Islands on Monday.

"The Diaoyu Islands and adjacent islets are Chinese territories since ancient times. The usual cruising of the Chinese ships within Chinese seas is irreproachable," Liu said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...t_10474985.htm

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Japan activists land on disputed islands amid China row


The Japanese activists raised their country's flag after they landed

Continue reading the main story Related Stories

• Could disputed islands be sold?
• Tokyo 'to buy disputed islands'
• Q&A: China-Japan islands row

At least 10 Japanese nationalist activists have landed on a group of disputed islands, amid an escalating territorial row with China.

The activists swam ashore after a flotilla carrying about 150 people reached the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, called Diaoyu in China.

Japan's coast guard is now questioning the activists, who had earlier been denied permission to visit the islands.

The move triggered protests in China and strong condemnation from Beijing.

More than 100 people gathered near the Japanese consulate in China's southern city of Guanghzou, demanding the Japanese to leave the islands, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Anti-Japanese rallies were also held in Shenzhen, Qingdao and Harbin, the agency reported.

The islands in the East China Sea lie on a vital shipping lane, and are surrounded by deposits of gas.

They are also claimed by Taiwan.

'Grave crisis'

The Japanese launched their flotilla on Saturday, saying they wanted to commemorate the Japanese who died near the islands in World War II.

Continue reading the main story Japan-China disputed islands

• The archipelago consists of five islands and three reefs
• Japan, China and Taiwan claim them; they are controlled by Japan and form part of Okinawa prefecture
• Japanese businessman Kunioki Kurihara owns three of the islands, which he rents out to the Japanese state
• The islands were the focus of a major diplomatic row between Japan and China in 2010

• Q&A: China-Japan islands row

They raised the Japanese flag when they landed on the rocks, emulating the pro-China activists who had made the same gesture during their trip.

A journalist from the French AFP news agency, who is aboard one of the boats, said the flotilla had arrived off the main island, Uotsuri, at sunrise.

One of the politicians on the flotilla, Kenichi Kojima, told AFP: "I want to show the international community that these islands are ours. It is Japan's future at stake."

China has warned that the expedition would undermine its territorial sovereignty.

"Any unilateral action taken by Japan on the Diaoyu Islands is illegal and invalid," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gan.

Earlier this week, pro-Chinese activists sailed to the disputed island chain from Hong Kong in a protest aimed at promoting Chinese sovereignty.

Some of the activists were deported by Japan, and others sailed away from the islands.

In a separate development, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun is reporting that Tokyo is planning to replace its ambassador to China.

Ambassador Uichiro Niwa earlier this year warned that a plan put forward by Tokyo's municipal government to buy some of the islands could spark a "grave crisis" between Japan and China.

The government was reportedly furious with him for misrepresenting Tokyo's position on the islands.

Rows over the disputed islands have caused Sino-Japanese ties to freeze in the past.

In September 2010, relations plummeted after the arrest of a Chinese trawler captain near the islands.

The captain was accused of ramming two Japanese patrol vessels in the area, but Japan eventually dropped the charges against him.

China claims the islands have been a part of its territory since ancient times, but Japan says it took control of the archipelago in the late 1890s after making sure they were uninhabited.




China denounces Japan's Lower House resolution on islands dispute

China has denounced Japan's Lower House for adopting a resolution criticizing the August 15 landing on the Senkaku Islands by Chinese activists.

Japan's attempt to boost its position in the territorial dispute is 'illegal and futile', Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

According to the Japan Times, in the first resolution over the Senkaku issue ever adopted by the Lower House, the chamber demanded the government strongly urge China to prevent any further landings.
It also asked China to take every possible measure, including strengthening territorial surveillance, the report added.

Hong Lei said that if Japan wanted to deepen relations with China, it should take 'practical action to that end' and take no provocative measures, such as adopting critical resolutions.

Hong Lei also repeated Beijing's position that the islands have been China's inherent territory since ancient times, the report said.


Japan keen to address 'soured' relations with China following 'island spat'

Japan's Foreign Minister, Koichiro Gemba, has said it is time to address Tokyo's soured relations with China, especially with regard to a territorial dispute involving a set of islets in the East China Sea.

The situation between the two countries aggravated further after the national flag was ripped off a car carrying the Japanese ambassador in Beijing amid widespread anti-Japan demonstrations over disputes regrading an island chain known in China as Diaoyu and in Japan as Senkaku.

"I believe that we must exchange opinions now on the situation of Japan-China relations, on the situation of the region as a whole, including the Korean peninsula, as well as the global situation," the Herald Sun quoted Gemba, as saying.

Describing the incident as "very regrettable", Gemba said he would send an envoy to deliver a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao.

He declined to elaborate on the contents, but said it was a good opportunity to address ties that have soured over the island dispute.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, the government's top spokesman claimed the letter to Hu was about "developing stable Japan-China relations based on a broad view", the paper said.

Despite their large and mutually important trade relationship, ties between Tokyo and Beijing are often blighted by historical animosities, especially war-time atrocities carried out by the invading Japanese army, it added.



Japan makes 2 bln yen bid to purchase disputed islands claimed by China from owners

Japan Government is making a two-billion-yen-bid to buy the Senkaku Islands from their owners, as it is moving with a plan to bring them under state control as soon as possible, sources familiar with the matter have said.

The government is engaged in serious 'behind-the-scenes' talks with the Kurihama family which owns four of the five islands, at a time when the issue is at the center of Japan's diplomatic strife with China.

According to the Japan Times, although members of the Kurihara family had earlier refused to sell the islands, it has recently taken a more flexible stance on the government's proposal.

According to sources, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Nagahama secretly approached the Kurihara family around end of July on orders from Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to buy the islands, the report said.



Japanese survey of disputed East China Sea islands


The survey team were not allowed to land on the islands themselves

Continue reading the main story Related Stories

• Disputed islands purchase attempt Watch
• Could disputed islands be sold?
• Q&A: China-Japan islands row

A group of Japanese officials have carried out a survey of a group of islands in the East China Sea claimed by both Japan and China.

The team was dispatched to the islands by Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara.

Mr Ishihara says he plans to buy the islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from their private owner.
Protesters from both Japan and China have landed on the disputed islands in recent weeks.

The 25-strong team sent by Mr Ishihara stayed on their boats while surveying the islands' coastlines and the waters around them.

"The governor has asked what could be done to build a small harbour. We want to check the islands with that in mind," said Seiichiro Sakamaki, the Tokyo official leading the team, according to the AFP news agency.

However, the Japanese central government did not give the group permission to land on the islands.

In July, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said that his government was also negotiating to buy the islands.

Chinese official media reiterated Beijing's position that any unilateral Japanese action with regard to the islands would be "illegal and invalid".

Stunts and protests

Japan administers the islands, but China says the rocky grouping has been part of Chinese territory since ancient times.

The disputed islands sit in key shipping lanes and are thought to lie close to gas deposits.

In recent weeks the long-running dispute over the islands has flared up again.

A group of pro-China activists landed on the islands last month. Some were subsequently deported by the Japanese authorities and some sailed away from the islands.

A similar stunt by Japanese nationalist groups a few days later provoked anti-Japanese protests in several Chinese cities.

In one incident, the Japanese flag was ripped off a car carrying Japan's ambassador in Beijing.



Japan plans to buy disputed Senkaku Islands by month end

The Japanese Government is close to reaching a deal to buy three Senkaku Islands by the end of this month from their Japanese owners to clarify its ownership amid a territorial row with China, officials have said.

"The state is currently leasing the islands, but the owner wants to sell them," Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said.

"We are discussing it from the standpoint of maintaining and managing the Senkaku Islands in a peaceful and stable manner," Fujimura added.

According to the Japan Times, the government's purchase of the Uotsuri, Kitakojima and Minamikojima Islands, has irked China and Taiwan, which also claim the East China Sea territory.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda had revealed plans to buy the islands in July at a proposed price of about 2 billion yuan.

According to the report, Senkaku Islands form an integral part of Japan's territory historically and under international law and has administered them since 1895.


US 'obliged to defend' contested Senkaku Islands

Rick Wallace, Tokyo correspondent
From: The Australian
July 11, 2012

THE row over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands is poised to heat up
amid reports that the US has confirmed they fall within its joint defense treaty
with Japan, amid renewed tension with China.

Japan's Kyodo news agency reported yesterday that a "senior" US state department official had told it the islands fell within the
treaty, which obliges the US to defend an attack on Japanese territory.


US position on Diaoyu Islands very dangerous

(Xinhua) Updated: 2012-09-04 07:13

BEIJING - The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will arrive in China Tuesday for a two-day trip to exchange views on a wide range of issues including reiterating the US position on the Diaoyu Islands.

As far as we know, however, the so-called US position on the Diaoyu Islands is very dangerous and is not conducive to the security and stability of the Asia-Pacific region.
What is the US position on the Diaoyu Islands?

According to the remarks made by the US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland at a regular briefing on August 28, the US stance could be boiled down to - the US claimed it does not take a position on the question of the ultimate sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands. It also stated the islands are under the administrative control of the government of Japan, so the islands fall under the scope of the US-Japan security treaty.

And Nuland also made it clear that Washington calls the islands by their Japanese name, the Senkaku Islands instead of the Diaoyu Islands, which bears serious connotations of "recognition" in international relations.

It's not difficult to tell that though the US government's position on the Diaoyu islands is contradictory, but in essence, it's very clear, that is, it supports the Japanese government's confrontational stance against China on the issue of the Diaoyu Islands.

The US-Japan security treaty's Article 5 stipulates that an armed attack against either party in the territories under the administration of Japan would be a threat to both countries.

People have reasons to show concern that the US's strong intervention into the issue of the Diaoyu Islands and its insistence on backing Japan will harden the position of the Japanese government and will encourage anti-China arrogance of the Japanese right-wing forces.

This would probably make the dispute more complicated and weaken the tenacity of a negotiated settlement. And this would be detrimental to the security and stability of East Asia and even the entire Asia-Pacific region.

People also have reasons to believe that the US position on the Diaoyu Islands and its strong intervention is also a manifestation of its Pivot to Asia policy.

It's not long after US President Barack Obama came into office, did he begin to convey its strategic intentions of Pivot to Asia to the world. And many analysts believe the key in implementing the Obama administration's Pivot to Asia policy is to unite allies in the Asia-Pacific region to curb the rise of China.

As a latest signal of the US policy, State Secretary Hillary Clinton participated in the 43rd Pacific Islands Forum on August 31, making it the highest ranking US government delegation to attend the meeting in 41 years. It showed the core of the diplomatic policy of the Obama administration's Pivot to Asia policy.

In fact, after the Obama administration announced the policy, it had already engaged in a series of activities, such as intervening into other countries' issues overtly or secretly, sowing discord among Asia-Pacific countries, flaring up regional tension, and even toughening the settlement of disputes by holding a joint military drill and enhancing front-line military deployment.

It intended to rebuild order according to its own wills after disturbing the Asia-Pacific situation so as to curb the rise of China to prevent it from challenging the US status.
The US move to implement the Pivot to Asia policy, however, is even not extensively acclaimed by its domestic media.

An opinion piece carried by the Wall Street Journal pointed out that "So far, the first and perhaps biggest problem with the idea of the pivot... is that it remains largely rhetorical, vague and aspirational."

The supposed strategic shift "won't solve Asia's problems and may even add to the region's uncertainty by over-promising and under-delivering," according to the article.



‘Japan playing with fire:' Chinese warships deployed to disputed islands

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Published: 11 September, 2012, 21:21





The Chinese patrol ship Haijian 46, one of the two ships which is reportedly sailing near the disputed islands in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Japan or Diaoyu in China, in this handout file photo taken by the Japan Coast Guard in December 2008. (REUTERS)

Two Chinese patrol ships have been dispatched to a group of disputed islands following Tokyo’s announcement that it would purchase the isles from private owners. Beijing has vowed “reciprocal measures” should the situation escalate.

Two ships from the China Marine Surveillance (CMS) – a paramilitary maritime law enforcement agency – were dispatched to the tiny archipelago in the South China Sea “to assert the country’s sovereignty,” the official Chinese Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday.

Xinhua said the vessels had reached the waters around the Diaoyu Islands — known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands —and would take the necessary measures to deal with “the development of the situation.”

Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesman Geng Yansheng vowed the “government and armed forces stand firm and are unshakeable in their determination and will safeguard sovereignty over the nation's territories."

"We are watching the evolution of the situation closely and reserve the right to take reciprocal measures," he continued.

However, Japan’s coast guard said no special measures have been taken as a result of the Chinese patrol boats' deployment to the islands, though Tokyo monitoring any possible new developments. Japanese officials say it's unlikely that the Chinese vessels would come within 12 nautical miles of the islands – which would constitute an encroachment on Japanese territorial waters.

Beijing summoned Japan’s ambassador to China late on Monday to protest Japan’s move to buy three of the five islands, which will become the responsibility of the Japanese coast guard if the plan goes through.

The People's Liberation Army Daily also said in a commentary on Tuesday that Japan was playing with fire, calling the purchase the “most blatant challenge to China’s sovereignty since the end of World War II.”

And as the rhetoric heats up, China has started broadcasting a daily weather report for the islands for the first time.

Small demonstrations outside of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing followed the news, with a dozen or so demonstrators chanting “Japan, get out of China.” Similar protests were reported in two other cities in eastern and southern China.

Taiwan, who has also laid claim to the islands, which are on a route to rich fishing grounds and potentially large maritime gas fields, recalled its envoy to Japan on Tuesday in response to Tokyo’s plan to nationalize them.

Taiwan’s envoy was instructed to lodge a formal complaint with Tokyo, and is expected to return to Taipei on Wednesday.



Protesters (front) hold a banner reading "Diaoyu islands belong to China" as people march down a street in Weihai, in eastern China's Shandong province, to protest against Japan "nationalizing" the Diaoyu islands, also known as the Senkaku Islands in Japanese, on September 11, 2012. (AFP Photo)
*
Tokyo moves against Japanese nationalists, not Beijing

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba attempted to mitigate the blowback on Tuesday by reiterating the claim that the $26-million purchase served the "peaceful and stable maintenance of the islands."

Gemba urged calm, saying "we cannot damage the stable development of the Japan-China relationship because of that issue.”

Following the announcement to purchase the islands, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, without specifically mentioning the territorial dispute, admitted that regional dynamics had left Japan in an increasingly precarious position.

"We have North Korea launching missiles under the name of satellites and conducting a nuclear program, China expanding its military might and continuing vigorous activities in regional waters, and Russia also boosting its activities in the Far East," Reuters cites him as saying.

Having found itself in such troubled waters, some experts believe Japan’s bid to purchase the islands is meant to stymie plans by Tokyo’s nationalist governor, Shintaro Ishihara, who had previously announced hopes of developing the islands. The country’s central government maintains that it will not develop the isles.

*Japan incorporated the disputed islands in 1895, but ceded ownership following World War II, when the US took over administrative control. The US returned the islands to Japan in 1972, three after an expert revealed that oil reserves could be located under the sea in close proximity to the isles, reigniting China’s once dormant territorial claims.

“Ishihara put the national government in a very difficult spot. He pushed them into doing this now,” Sheila Smith, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, told AP. Smith says the three parties involved should see the move as an attempt by Tokyo to derail Ishihara’s plans.

Ishihara for his part reiterated calls to develop the islands for use by fisherman.

Chinese authorities, who regularly exaggerate statements regarding Japan for domestic consumption, at least publicly have no intentions of backing down, whatever Japan’s intentions, especially in an area where it might appear that a territorial claim is being solved unilaterally.
But while nationalists on both sides are seen as a potentially destabilizing force, experts believe both sides have no intention of seriously damaging economic times over the issue.


AFP Photo

Reuters / Bobby Yip

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China to counter nationalization of Senkakus

China says it will keep taking measures against Japan's nationalization of the Senkaku Islands. The two countries claim sovereignty over the island chain.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a new conference on Wednesday that China is watching developments on the issue. He added that his country will take necessary measures to defend its sovereignty, but he stopped short of giving details.

He also referred to the meetings of senior diplomats from both countries in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Hong said, during the talks, Director-general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Asian Affairs, Luo Zhaohui demanded that Japan immediately revoke the decision to purchase the Senkaku Islands.

The chief of Japan's Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Shinsuke Sugiyama, visited Beijing earlier this week to explain at the meetings, why Japan had decided to nationalize the islands.

The Chinese spokesperson also says Japan is responsible for ongoing difficulties including the putting-off of planned events in China, involving Japan.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120912_35.html

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Taiwanese patrol ships set sail for disputed islands



File photo shows the disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China in the East China Sea.

Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:11AM

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Taiwan has dispatched two coastguard ships to waters near the disputed islands in the East China Sea, as territorial tensions are growing among Taiwan, China and Japan.

The vessels set sail for the archipelago (known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoya in China) on Thursday to offer round-the-clock protection for Taiwanese fishermen, according to a coastguard official.

The move came after Japan's public broadcaster NHK announced that the sales contract to buy the three uninhabited islands from the private owner was signed on Tuesday morning.

Shortly after the announcement by NHK, two Chinese patrol ships set sail for the resource-rich islands to “assert the country's sovereignty.”

China's Foreign Ministry on Monday warned that Beijing would not “sit back and watch its territorial sovereignty violated.”

The Chinese ministry said in a statement that “China strongly urges Japan to immediately stop all action to undermine China's territorial sovereignty and return to a negotiated settlement to the dispute. If Japan insists on going its own way, it will bear all the serious consequences that follow.”

Tokyo and Beijing have long been competing over the sovereignty of the islands, which would give the owner exclusive oil, mineral and fishing rights in surrounding waters.

China, however, does not recognize the ownership of the Japanese Kurihara family.

In August, tensions heightened after Japan arrested 14 Chinese nationals when they landed on one of the islands to voice their opposition against Japan’s ownership of the islands.

Analysts say Tokyo has been enjoying Washington’s support in its island dispute with China, because Japan represents the regional interests of the United States.

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Panetta prepares for Asia trip

2012-09-14

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will visit Japan days before landing in China later this month, as the two Asian countries continue to feud over territorial rights to the Diaoyu Islands.

Although the islands are important for the US strategic "pivot" to the Asia-Pacific region and to maintain the country's dominant role in international affairs, Panetta is likely to work with Tokyo on controlling the strained situation instead of delivering more support to Japan, analysts said.

According to NHK, or Japan Broadcasting Corp, Panetta is scheduled to meet his Japanese counterpart Satoshi Morimoto and Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba on Monday. He is also expected to meet Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

The stance of the United States, an important ally of Japan, is in the spotlight over the Diaoyu Islands issue. Several US officials have said it has interests in the region but won't take sides in territorial spats between its allies and China. But Washington, which also has said the Diaoyu Islands fall within the scope of the US-Japan security treaty, is widely believed to favor Tokyo.

Panetta's visit was announced one day after Tokyo said the "purchase" of the Diaoyu Islands, which belong to China, from "private owners" was completed on Tuesday. The purchase has sparked wide protests and countermeasures from China.

The visit also followed a series of US-China meetings that are believed to ease the tension between US allies and China over the disputes. One of the visits was US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's unexpected stop in China earlier this month, as well as visits to the US by Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and by Cai Yingting, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

But still, some US lawmakers blamed China for the flaring regional tension. On Wednesday, Republican US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehitinen, chairwoman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said China was being a "schoolyard bully" toward its maritime neighbors and that it aspires to dominate the region.

Japan is seeking more support from the US amid the row. Seiji Maehara, policy chief of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, met Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for east Asian and Pacific affairs, to explain why the Japanese government moved to "nationalize" the Diaoyu Islands, Jiji Press said on Thursday.

Washington fully understands the reasoning behind Tokyo's action, Maehara told reporters after the meeting.

Being clear about its role in US ambitions in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan aims to play up US security support and would like to be in the forefront of Washington's Asia-Pacific strategy, said Liu Youfa, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies.

The US wants to share in the impressive economic growth of the region — in which China is one of the most important players — but the Diaoyu Islands are vital to the US as part of the first island chain off the East Asian continental mainland coast to contain China, he said.

"But Panetta would absolutely not further inflame China-Japan tensions, as Washington knows the situation getting out of control is not in US interests in the region," Liu added.

Washington does not want to see the final resolution of the Diaoyu Islands issue either, said Ruan Zongze, a colleague of Liu.

"Washington wants to see the two countries at odds, so either of them won't challenge its domination role in the world," Ruan said.

Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary on Thursday "it would be self-deceiving that China could not see through Washington's calculations, and such a two-pronged policy of containment and engagement toward China could never possibly underpin a stable and constructive China-US relationship".

"Actually, Japan's relative isolation from the other Asian countries — due to its aggressive history during World War II and irresponsibility over its history — is not helpful to the US strategic shift," Ruan said.

Tokyo's illegal purchase of the Diaoyu Islands appears to be a silly act on the Japanese politicians' part, China Central Television quoted a US expert on international relations as saying.

"Anyone who looks in to international diplomacy will recognize it as something like a joke," he said.

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Be prepared for combat says Chinese general

China News.Net Friday 14th September, 2012

A senior Chinese general has urged the army not to be slack and be prepared for any possible military combat. The remark comes amid rising tensions between China and Japan over some disputed islands.

Efforts should be made to ensure that the military is capable of resolutely performing its duty to safeguard the country's national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity whenever it is needed by the Party and the people, said Gen. Xu Caihou, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission.

Xu made the remarks Thursday during an inspection of military units in north China's Shanxi Province, reported Xinhua.

The military should improve its competence in the deterrent and operational missions, Xu said.

The army should always keep its political resolution, ideological stability and unity, Xu said.

Moreover, Xu told the military to improve efforts to keep the soldiers well-informed of important current events and policies.

China and Japan claim rights over the disputed islands in the East China Sea. It lies on a vital shipping route and are surrounded by large hydrocarbon deposits beneath them.

Japan says it has controlled the islands since 1895 until its surrender at the end of World War II. The islands were controlled by the US from 1945 to 1972 and subsequently returned to Japan's control. China claims the islands' discovery and control since the 14th century.

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China ships sail in waters near disputed islands


The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes explains the background to the tension

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• US urges calm in China-Japan row
• China sends ships in islands row
• Japan confirms islands purchase

Six Chinese surveillance ships briefly entered waters around islands claimed by both Japan and China, amid a bitter territorial dispute.

China said the ships were carrying out "law enforcement" to show jurisdiction over the islands, called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.

Three vessels left after a short time and the other three have now also left, the Japanese coast guard said.

The move came after Japan sealed a deal to buy three of the islands.

Japan controls the uninhabited but resource-rich East China Sea islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan.

Three were in the hands of a private Japanese owner but the Japanese government bought them earlier this week.

'No force'

The Japanese Coast Guard said the first two Chinese boats entered Japan's territorial waters at 06:18 local time (21:18 GMT Thursday), followed by another fleet of four other ships just after 07:00.

Continue reading the main story Japan-China disputed islands

• The archipelago consists of five islands and three reefs
• Japan, China and Taiwan claim them; they are controlled by Japan and form part of Okinawa prefecture
• The Japanese government signed a deal in September 2012 to purchase three islands from Japanese businessman Kunioki Kurihara, who used to rent them out to the Japanese state
• The islands were the focus of a major diplomatic row between Japan and China in 2010

• Q&A: China-Japan islands row

Three ships moved away from the islands about 90 minutes later, amid warnings from the Japanese coast guard, followed hours later by the other three, NHK reported.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda established a task force to address the issue, local reports said, and the government also summoned the Chinese ambassador to lodge a protest.

"We understand that the dispatch of six ships is surely an unprecedented case, considering past incidents," Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said.

He added that Japan asked China to "secure the safety" of its nationals after a report from its Shanghai consulate that a Japanese group was "assaulted by Chinese" at a restaurant.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed early on Friday that its ships were there.

"These law enforcement and patrol activities are aimed to demonstrate China's jurisdiction over the Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islets and ensure the country's maritime interests," a statement said.

Trade fears

The US has called for ''cooler heads to prevail'' as tension intensifies between China and Japan over the islands, which lie south of Okinawa and north of Taiwan.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is due to visit both Japan and China from this weekend as part of a tour of the region.

The dispute has seriously marred diplomatic relations between China and Japan and threatens to damage the strong trading relationship, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Beijing.

The row has also generated strong nationalist sentiment on both sides that observers say now makes it very difficult to be seen to be backing down, says our correspondent.

The Japanese government says it is buying the islands to promote their stable and peaceful management.

Its move followed a bid by right-wing Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara to buy the islands using public donations - an action that would likely have provoked China even more.

China, on the other hand, says the islands have historically been its territory and fishing grounds.

Meanwhile Japan's newly-appointed ambassador to China, Shinichi Nishimiya, remains in hospital in Tokyo after he was found unconscious near his home in Tokyo on Thursday.

No details have been given on his condition. He was appointed on Tuesday to replace Uichiro Niwa, who has been criticised for his handling of one of the worse diplomatic rows between Japan and China in recent years.

[American Patriot]

Maybe the next war will start there....

[vector7]

Chinese Protesters Storm Japanese Embassy



http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,16243293,00.html

From the article:

Anti-Japan protests have broken out across China, with thousands of people mobbing the Japanese embassy in Beijing. Tensions between the two countries have risen over a disputed chain of islands in the East China Sea.

Thousands of protesters hurled rocks and bottles at the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Saturday, as tensions between Asia's two largest economies escalated over a row involving a disputed chain of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.

Riot police sought to stop the angry mob from breaching the embassy, as chanting protesters burned Japanese flags.

"Return our islands! Japanese devils get out," some of the protesters shouted. Reuters news agency reported that one protester held a sign reading: "For the respect of the motherland, we must go to war with Japan."

~snip~

China's Communist Party normally does not allow protests to take place. But Beijing is under popular pressure, fuelled by historical memories of the Japanese occupation of China during World War Two, to take a tough stand against Tokyo.

The Chinese tabloid Global Times, published by the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily, called on Beijing to hold its ground against Tokyo.

"China should be confident about strategically overwhelming Japan," the tabloid wrote, adding that the Chinese armed forces should "increase their preparation and intensify their deterrence" against Japan.


In Beijing 10,000 people menaced the Japanese embassy, and in over 50 cities throughout the country rioters looted and burned anything identified as Japanese. China has reportedly sent 6 warship to teh Senkaku Islands, and a fleet of 1000 Chinese fishing boats are set to sail and occupy the islands.

[American Patriot]

The Japanese ought to shoot the fuckers off the wall.

I can't even IMAGINE that war.....

[vector7]

Steve Herman ‏@W7VOA

Kyodo reports that Japan's new ambassador to China who collapsed on a Tokyo street earlier this week has died.

[vector7]

Anti-Japan Protests Call For WAR - China South Sea Dispute



Published on Sep 15, 2012 by SurvivalWithBushcraf

Thousands of Chinese protesters hurled bottles and eggs outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Saturday amid growing tensions between the two nations over a group of disputed islands.

Waving Chinese national flags and holding portraits of the late Chairman Mao Zedong, the mostly young protesters chanted "down with Japanese imperialism" and called for war as they made their way down the streets under the watchful eyes of police and guards.

Elsewhere in China, anti-Japanese rallies broke out in dozens of cities and sometimes turned violent. Messages and photos posted on Chinese social media sites showed angry mobs in numerous cities ransacking Japanese stores and restaurants as well as smashing and burning cars of Japanese make.

Japanese media also reported incidents of assault on Japanese nationals in China in the past few days. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman insisted Friday that the public anger was not aimed at the Japanese people, whose safety would be protected in China according to law.

Authorities rarely permit protests in China, prompting suspicion that Saturday's nationwide rallies were government-sanctioned. In Beijing, police walking along the demonstrators were seen to ask spectators to join in instead of blocking the street.

By Saturday night, China's state-run media had started appealing for restraint, running commentaries that condemned violence and lectured the public on the true meaning of patriotism. In a sign of rising concern over the gathering of large crowds, authorities in cities that had seen the most ferocious protests canceled entertainment and sporting events.

Tensions escalated Friday when Chinese maritime surveillance ships ignored warnings from Japan and briefly entered waters around the group of islands at the center of the heated territorial dispute.

The ships arrived near the uninhabited islands -- which Japan calls Senkaku and China calls Diaoyu -- and began patrols and "law enforcement," China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

The islands, situated in the East China Sea between Okinawa and Taiwan, are under Japanese control, but China claims they have been a part of its territory for ages.

The long-running argument over who has sovereignty has triggered protests in both nations.

The United States,a key ally of Japan, has repeatedly urged Tokyo and Beijing to resolve the dispute through dialogue. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will meet with his counterparts in Japan and China this weekend, the Department of Defense said Thursday.

[Ryan Ruck]

[Ilya Yefimov]

Ryan, your inbox is full. Delete something.

rt.com/art-and-culture/news/lenin-632/

[Ryan Ruck]

It should not be full. If you are having problems with PMs, you can always email me.

[vector7]

Four military regions begin intensive military exercises to prepare to seize the island





Nanjing Air Force training 24 hours day and night for sorties against the drill site

[vector7]

Island tensions, US aircraft deployment to Japan will be high on agenda

Updated: 2012-09-17
By Cheng Guangjin in Beijing and Tan Yingzi in Washington (China Daily)



United States Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is set to visit Japan and China this week amid escalating tensions between the two biggest powers of East Asia.

Analysts said the dispute over the Diaoyu Islands and the US deployment of MV-22 Osprey aircraft to Japan will be high on Panetta's agenda.

The top Pentagon official will also try to explain the US' pivot toward Asia, and promote US-China military relations in meetings with Chinese officials, according to analysts.

Panetta left Washington on Sept 15 for his third trip to Asia in 11 months. He will travel to Japan, China and New Zealand.

His visit to China will be his first since taking office in July last year, following Defense Minister Liang Guanglie's trip to Washington in May.

In announcing Panetta's trip to China, the Pentagon underscored opportunities for increasing military cooperation as part of their efforts to reassure China that relocating military resources to the Asia-Pacific is not meant to confront the country.

"We believe it's going to be a very productive and cordial visit, one that will advance our shared goals of a more transparent and even more viable relationship with the Chinese military," said Pentagon Press Secretary George Little, to the American Forces Press Service.

During the trip, the US also seeks to promote contact between cadets and mid-level military officers to complement high-level talks, he added.

Panetta's stop in Japan before his prearranged visit to China, which had been revealed much earlier, has attracted attention as the two neighbors are engaged in an escalating territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands.

In Japan, Panetta will meet with that country's Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto, Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba and US service members, Little said.

He is also expected to discuss Japanese concerns over the safety of the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft the US is deploying to Japan.

"The frequency of recent visits to Japan shows the US has an unwavering commitment to the Japanese alliance and to Japanese security, and it makes sense when you're in the neighborhood to stop by and see your good friends," he said.

However, China is also of growing importance to the US.

In a recent poll conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, when asked whether Japan or China is more important to the US, seven in 10 US citizens said that China is more important.

Commentator Peng Nian said the US defense secretary's visits to Japan and China is "very important" at a time when the two countries' ties are strained by their territorial disputes.

"The US will show that it will not abandon Japan on the one hand, but will try to constrain Japan from destructive behavior on the other," Peng said.

"In China, Panetta will learn about China's stance on the Diaoyu Islands issue, try to deter Beijing and persuade China to change its tough stance," said Peng.

Panetta's 10-day trip will also include a stop in New Zealand, nearly 11,700 kilometers southeast of China. He will be the first US defense secretary to visit that nation in more than 30 years.

The US and New Zealand signed a declaration in June, that provides a framework for cooperation to focus, strengthen and expand the bilateral defense relationship.

China is concerned about the US rebalancing in the Asia-Pacific region, which is seen as the traditional superpower trying to contain China through strengthened relations with its allies and partners in this region.

"The US aims to have New Zealand join in its rebalancing in the Asia-Pacific region and further complete this system," Peng said.

According to the Voice of America, this visit is a chance for Panetta to allay the concerns of Beijing.

"Our effort to renew and intensify our involvement in Asia is fully compatible with the development and growth of China," Panetta said in June last year in Singapore.

[vector7]

US and Japanese officials agree on new missile defense system

4:32 a.m. EST, September 17, 2012|LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press



TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday that U.S. and Japanese officials have agreed to put a second defense system in Japan aimed at protecting the country from the threat of a missile attack from North Korea.

The exact location of the radar installation has not yet been determined. It will be in the south, U.S. officials said, but not in Okinawa.



Officials stressed that the system would be aimed at protecting the region against the threat from North Korea and is not directed at China.

The U.S. already has similar early warning radar systems on ships in the Asia-Pacific.

This second Japan-based system will allow the U.S. vessels to spread out and cover other parts of the Asia-Pacific region.

Panetta said the new installation would also be effective in protecting the U.S. homeland from a North Korea threat. He spoke during a press conference in Tokyo with the Japanese defense minister, Satoshi Morimoto.

Morimoto said it would not be appropriate at this time to specify a location for the new radar, and said a date for its deployment has not yet been set.

While officials insisted the radar system would not be aimed at China, the decision was sure to raise the ire of Beijing.

The radar will "enhance our ability to defend Japan," Panetta said, adding that he would talk to Chinese leaders about the system to assure them that this about protecting the U.S. and the region from North Korea's missile threat.

"We have made these concerns clear to the Chinese," he said. "For that reason ... we believe it is very important to move ahead" with the radar system.

Japan has worked closely with the U.S. for several years on missile defense, and has both land- and sea-based missile launchers.

North Korea's ballistic missiles are considered a threat to security in the Asia-Pacific region because of the risk of conflict erupting on the divided and heavily militarized Korean peninsula, and because of the secretive North's nuclear weapons program.

The long-range rockets it is developing have been test-fired over Japan and could potentially reach the U.S.

The North conducted its latest long-range rocket launch in April, defying a U.N. ban. Pyongyang said the launch was intended to send an observation satellite into space but it drew international condemnation as the rocket technology is similar to that used for ballistic missiles.

The launch was a failure and the rocket disintegrated shortly after takeoff.

Panetta is on his third trip to Asia in 11 months, reflecting the Pentagon's ongoing shift to put more military focus on the Asia-Pacific.


The defense chief is urging countries involved in territorial disputes in the region to find a way to peacefully resolve those problems before they spark provocations and violence.

Panetta's visit to Japan also included discussions with Morimoto about the deployment of V-22 Ospreys to the southwestern island of Okinawa. Tens of thousands of people have protested the hybrid aircraft's planned use, saying they are unsafe.

The U.S. had hoped to have the aircraft in place as early as next month, but Morimoto said no specific date has been set on that matter, either.

The Pentagon plans to deploy 12 of the aircraft, which take off and land like a helicopter, but fly like a plane. U.S. officials have assured Japanese leaders the Ospreys are safe.