Growing tension over the Senkaku islands

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Panetta Warns of War Between China and Japan Over Disputed Islands

By Patrick Goodenough
September 17, 2012


Chinese protesters shout slogans outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

(CNSNews.com) – Exchanging warnings but avoiding confrontations thus far, Chinese and Japanese ships have come within less than half a nautical mile of each other in an ongoing dispute over the sovereignty of contested islands.

Amid deepening tensions in a long-running saga over the uninhabited islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Sunday about the possibility of war between the two Asian countries.

“What we don't want is to have any kind of provocative behavior on the part of China or anybody else result in conflict,” he told reporters accompanying him on a trip that includes stops in Japan, China and New Zealand.

“My purpose will be to urge that they engage in the effort by the Asian nations to try to work out a format for resolving these issues,” he added, referring to a code of conduct developed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in a bid to manage unconnected territorial disputes between China and ASEAN members in the South China Sea.

Asked again about the concerns, Panetta said he was worried that “when these countries engage in provocations of one kind or another over these various islands, that it raises the possibility that a misjudgment on one side or the other could result in violence and could result in conflict, and that conflict would then, you know, have the potential of expanding.”


Defense Secretary Leon Panetta meets with his Japanese counterpart Satoshi Morimoto, in Tokyo on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

“We’re going to face more of this, countries are searching for resources,” he added. “There’s going to be questions raised as to who has jurisdiction over these areas. There has got to be a peaceful way to resolve these issues.”

Any conflict between Japan and China could risk drawing in the United States.

Although the U.S. position is that is does not take sides in the territorial dispute the Obama administration, like the Bush administration before it, has confirmed that the islands fall within the scope of article five of the 1960 U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security – an appraisal rejected by Beijing.

The treaty’s article five states: “Each Party recognizes that an armed attack against either Party in the territories under the administration of Japan would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common danger in accordance with its constitutional provisions and processes.”

The Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, located about halfway between the Chinese mainland and Japan’s southernmost island of Okinawa, have been under disputed Japanese control since the late 19th century.

Earlier this month the Japanese government signed an agreement to buy three of the five islands from their owner, a businessman who has rented them to the government since 2002. China described the move as illegal and in response made a submission to the United Nations defining its territorial claims in the vicinity.

China late last week deployed at least six surveillance ships to waters around the islands, to begin what the country’s China Marine Surveillance (CMS) division describes as “patrol and law enforcement” operations.

Beijing’s official Xinhua news agency, citing a reporter onboard one of the vessels, said three Japanese coastguard ships and three helicopters monitored the group of Chinese ships and that the two sides had exchanged warnings by radio, each informing the other they were violating sovereignty. The ships had come within less than half a nautical mile (less than 3,000 feet) of each other, it said.

Chinese authorities, who usually do not tolerate large public protests, have permitted anti-Japan rallies in dozens of cities across China, and in some cases Japanese cars and property have been attacked and damaged.

Chinese media noted that weekend demonstrations by tens of thousands of protestors were described by observers as the biggest targeting Japan since relations between the two former enemies were normalized in 1972.

Official media outlets appear to be seeking a balance between firing up emotions with impassioned criticism of Japanese policies, and cautioning against overreaction.

A People’s Daily article Saturday, for example, used emotive terms to describe Japanese officials’ behavior, warning they were “digging their own graves and will ultimately pay a heavy price.”

On Sunday an article in the same publication – a Communist Party mouthpiece – said that citizens’ public expression of “patriotism” was a “natural reaction,” but also cautioned against law-breaking. “Wisdom is needed in the expression of patriotism,” it said.

Global Times, also Communist Party-affiliated, on Monday rejected criticism that Beijing was allowing protests to turn ugly.

“There is no reason to suspect that the government is turning a blind eye to the violence seen over the weekend,” it said. “This is simply the view of those who make a habit of criticizing the government.”

The protests are expected to pick up on Tuesday, which is marked in China in memory of Japan’s occupation of parts of its territory last century. (The ‘Manchurian incident” on September 18, 1931 was an orchestrated act of sabotage, viewed as a pretext for Imperial Japan’s invasion of the region, which was occupied until the end of World War II.)

Panetta arrived in Tokyo on Sunday, and on Monday began talks with his Japanese counterpart, Satoshi Morimoto.

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Growing tension between China and Japan fuels concerns over potential war

MARK MacKINNON
BEIJING — The Globe and Mail
Published Sunday, Sep. 16 2012, 9:46 PM EDT
Last updated Monday, Sep. 17 2012, 7:51 AM EDT


Anti-Japan protesters burn a Japanese flag in Wuhan, in central China's Hubei province, on Sept. 16, 2012.
(/AP)

China’s incoming leader re-emerged this weekend after an unexplained two-week absence, just in time to see the country he’s about to inherit consumed with rabid anti-Japanese nationalism that his Communist Party unleashed, and which the United States warned on Sunday could lead to a regional war.

Beijing’s rapidly deteriorating relationship with Tokyo will top the agenda as Xi Jinping takes over as general secretary of the Communist Party from President Hu Jintao, a promotion expected as early as next month. While Mr. Xi will continue to share power with Mr. Hu for months afterward, the stakes could scarcely be higher for his first test.

Six days of sanctioned anti-Japanese protests – which escalated Sunday into a nationwide day of rage that saw Japanese businesses and diplomatic missions attacked – have whipped up hatred and created a situation that leaves the Chinese leadership little room to compromise in a showdown over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who is on the verge of calling an election that will see him challenged from the nationalist right, similarly has little room to negotiate.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he was worried the growing tensions between China and Japan could result in a war that would “have the potential of expanding.”

The U.S. is bound by treaty to defend Japan in the event it is attacked. China and Japan are the world’s second and third-largest economies.

“A misjudgment on one side or the other could result in violence, and could result in conflict,” Mr. Panetta said in Tokyo at the start of a tour that will take him to Beijing this week for talks with senior leaders.

The confrontation over the uninhabited islets, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, escalated from obscure to alarming last week after Tokyo moved to purchase them from the Japanese family that privately owned them for the past four decades. Beijing responded by unilaterally declaring new sea borders around the islands and then dispatching patrol boats to the area on Friday. Japanese boats were also sent to the area, leading to a nine-hour pursuit before the Chinese ships finally left the disputed waters.

That showdown at sea was followed by a weekend of dangerous street theatre around China. Tens of thousands took part in marches in dozens of cities Saturday and Sunday that were officially condoned and disturbingly xenophobic.

“Declare war on Japan!” thousands shouted as they marched past the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. Some waved portraits of Mao Zedong, and pelted the embassy gate with eggs and bottles as rows of military police looked on.

Japanese restaurants a few blocks away were forced to close, draping their exteriors in red Chinese flags so as to leave no question as to where their loyalties lay. An adjacent Chinese restaurant on the same street drew crowds by putting up signs declaring “pet dogs welcome, but not Japanese dogs.”

“We insist that the government take some hard actions” to seize the disputed islands, said Lu Zhentao, the restaurant’s manager. “The Japanese attitude is that they will not bow their heads to us.”

In the southern city of Guangzhou, a crowd smashed the windows of a building housing the Japanese consulate. In the neighbouring city of Shenzhen, police used tear gas, water cannons and pepper spray to disperse an estimated crowd of 10,000 that attacked a Japanese department store. In all, demonstrations were reported in 85 Chinese cities.

Anger is expected to rise ahead of Tuesday’s anniversary of the Mukden Incident of 1931, a staged attack on a Japanese railway line that was used as pretext for the Imperial Army’s invasion of Manchuria, and later the rest of China, at the outset of the Second World War. Considered a day of national humiliation in China, the anniversary is marked by protests even when ties between Beijing and Tokyo are businesslike.

“Regrettably, [there] is a problem concerning the safety of Japanese nationals and Japan-affiliated companies,” Mr. Noda said in televised remarks Sunday. “I would like to urge the Chinese government to protect their safety.”

However, Mr. Noda gave no indication he was considering Chinese demands that Japan abandon its purchase of the disputed islands. Tokyo does not recognize any dispute over the ownership of the islands, which have been in Japanese hands since 1895, except for a 26-year American occupation following the Second World War.

China’s own claim is based on the fact the islands appeared on Chinese maps for centuries before the Japanese annexed them.

Beijing is also unlikely to back down ahead of its own sensitive transition of power, which is expected to begin in late October and which requires the support of the hawkish leadership of the People’s Liberation Army. Seven of the nine current members of the all-powerful Standing Committee of the Politburo are due to retire at an upcoming Communist Party meeting, making way for a new generation of leaders headed by Mr. Xi, the current vice-president.

Mr. Xi returned to the public eye on Saturday – the Xinhua news agency published five photographs of him touring the China Agricultural University on Saturday – after an unexplained 13-day absence, putting to rest rumours that he was deathly ill or had been targeted in an assassination attempt.

He looked hale during his visit to the university, but did not address the showdown with Japan in brief remarks reported by Xinhua.

Many protesters outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing spoke of boycotting Japanese products until Tokyo withdrew its purchase of the disputed islets.

“If Chinese people boycott Japanese products, I don’t believe the Japanese could be so aggressive,” said 36-year-old Zhang Binglan, an insurance saleswoman who said Sunday’s protest was the first time in her life she had ever joined a political demonstration.

The Communist Party initially encouraged the protests with inflammatory media coverage of the islands dispute and laissez-faire policing that cleared a route for the demonstrators and allowed them to bring in boxes of eggs and other projectiles. But, as passions rose, police began trying to calm the crowd, using loudspeakers to urge the demonstrators to respect the law.

“I agree with their patriotism, but I disagree with their way of expressing it,” Zhang Liguo, a 17-year-old performing arts student, said of the attacks on Japanese interests. He wore a handmade sign reading: “Drive away the disrespectful Japanese!”

Some saw the protests as a convenient distraction for the Communist Party.

Even before Mr. Xi’s disappearing act, the party was dealing with the fallout of the scandalous Bo Xilai affair, which saw the one-time rising political star purged amid allegations he had helped cover up the murder of a British businessman by his wife Gu Kailai.

The treason trial of Wang Lijun, Mr. Bo’s former police chief in the southeastern city of Chongqing – who instigated his downfall by trying to seek refuge in a U.S. consulate – begins Tuesday, the same day the anti-Japanese demonstrations are expected to crest.

“It’s all staged. Only the Japanese could help us to have such a demonstration,” dissident artist Ai Weiwei told The Globe and Mail while wandering past Sunday’s protest in Beijing. “We haven’t had such street protests for decades. The Japanese are helping us get back our rights.”

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US wades into China-Japan island dispute with missile defense deal

Published: 17 September, 2012, 13:32
Edited: 17 September, 2012, 16:44


(AFP Photo / Mark Ralston)

A territorial dispute between China and Japan could spark a “violent conflict,” US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said. The US also inked a missile defense deal with Tokyo likely to anger Beijing, while mass anti-Japanese protests grip China.

"I am concerned that when these countries engage in provocations of one kind or another over these various islands, that it raises the possibility that a misjudgment on one side or the other could result in violence, and could result in conflict," Panetta said.

He also warned that Beijing and Tokyo should put an end to provocations or risk a “potentially expanding” conflict.

Following the diplomatic meeting with Panetta, Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said that Washington had agreed that the Senkaku islands, claimed by both Japan and China, are covered by a US-Japan security treaty.

In the 1960 treaty, the US committed to aid the Japanese in the event of an attack on the nation’s territory.

"I did not bring up the topic today, but it is mutually understood between Japan and the United States that [the islands] are covered by the treaty," Gemba said after the meeting on Monday. Washington previously claimed that the US would not take sides in the territorial dispute over the archipelago in the East China Sea.

The US also signed an agreement with Japan on Monday to build a second missile defense radar installation on Japanese territory, aimed at countering North Korea. China may view the move as a provocation.

The Senkaku islands – known as Diaoyu to the Chinese – are uninhabited, but are believed to contain rich mineral deposits and are located on important shipping lanes.

Violent protests rocked China after Japan announced last week that it had purchased three of the islands from a private owner. In the latest bout of demonstrations, anti-Japanese activists attacked Panasonic factories in the eastern city of Quingdao. Protesters burned Japanese flags and targeted Japanese-made cars.

In response to the wave of unrest, Panasonic temporarily ceased operations in China. In addition, Canon announced that it would suspend operations for employees’ safety. Toyota Motor Corp also said that it was affected by the anti-Japanese unrest, citing a suspected arson attack on one of its factories in the eastern Shandong province.
*
‘A decade of stagnation’

In a worrying escalation of the standoff around 1000 Chinese fishing boats are heading to waters near the disputed Senaku Islands, the state –run China National Radio reported, in what may be an additional counter measure over the Japanese nationalization of the isles.

The 1000 fishing boats may be joined by six Chinese surveillance ships, which have been stationed nearby since Friday.

On Monday, the Chinese government threatened that Japan could suffer from another “lost decade” if relations between the two countries deteriorate further.

"How could be it be that Japan wants another lost decade, and could even be prepared to go back by two decades," state newspaper the People's Daily said in a front-page article. China "has always been extremely cautious about playing the economic card," it said.

The paper claimed that China was prepared to “take up the battle,” should tensions persist.

James Corbett, an independent journalist based in Japan, said that the Japanese government’s move to sign a missile defense deal with the US will have “a very destabilizing effect on the region.”

“It’s destined to inflame tensions even further,” Corbett said. He dismissed US claims that the new missile defense radar is aimed at countering a North Korean threat as, “silly as saying that the missile defense shield going up in Europe is not aimed at Russia.”

Corbett described the “diplomatic scuffle” over the islands as relatively recent, stemming from the deposits of natural gas and oil believed to be near to the islands.

“For an awfully long time these islands were claimed by Japan and no one really cared about it in the region,” Corbett said.

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Don't take even half inch of China territory, daily warns Japan

China News.Net Monday 17th September, 2012

China won't allow any country to "seize even half inch of Chinese territory", said a state-run Chinese daily, warning the Japanese government that "it will have to swallow the bitter fruit" if it continued to act arbitrarily,

An article in the People's Daily Monday said despite strong opposition from China, the Japanese government "nationalizes" the Diaoyu Islands.

"It is not only a futile and dangerous farce but an open challenge to China's territorial sovereignty and national dignity," it said.

The daily warned: "We advise the Japanese government not to misjudge the situation. The Chinese people will never allow any country to seize even half inch of Chinese territory."

It said that the Diaoyu Islands and the affiliated islets have been China's inherent territory since ancient times.

The disputed islands in the East China Sea, which are also claimed by Taiwan, lie 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.

"The Japanese government's so-called `islands-buying' is ridiculous, illegal and invalid, which cannot change the fact that China claims territorial sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands and the affiliated islets," People's Daily said.

The daily observed that the essence of the Japanese government's act is its "intention to nibble Chinese territory in a gradual way".

"This kind of trick underestimates Chinese people's wisdom, determination and capability to defend the territory and sovereignty. The Japanese government, which thinks `nationalization' is a brilliant move, is actually about to fall off the dangerous abyss," it added.

Stressing that the country's strength has greatly increased after more than 30 years of reform and opening up, it said: "The Chinese People's Liberation Army has greatly improved its battle effectiveness in the modernization drive...The Chinese government and armed force's resolution and will of defending the national territorial sovereignty are strong and unchangeable."

"If the Japanese government continues to act arbitrarily, it will have to swallow the bitter fruit," it added.

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China protests: Japanese firms suspend some operations


The BBC's Martin Patience: ''The protests show that Beijing must do something to solve this dispute''

Related Stories

• China claims island boat success
• US alarm over Asia territory rows
• Japan confirms islands purchase

Some of Japan's biggest firms have suspended operations at some factories in China as safety concerns grow amid violent anti-Japan protests.

Panasonic said its factory in Qingdao would remain shut until 18 September, while Canon has also temporarily suspended operations at three plants.

Honda, Mazda and Nissan are stopping car production for two to four days.

The violence followed Japan's purchase of islands in the East China Sea which China claims sovereignty over.

Boycotts?

Camera maker Canon's affected factories are in the south-east of the country at Zhuhai and Zhongshan in the province of Guangdong and at Suzhou, near Shanghai.

A spokesperson for electronics giant Panasonic told the BBC that the firm would continue to monitor the situation over the next two days.

Honda's spokeswoman, Natsuno Asanuma, told Reuters the company was suspending production at two factories each in the southern city of Guangzhou and the central city of Wuhan. The company had seen some stores in Qingdao damaged by arsonists.

Japanese companies in China

• Panasonic - shut factory in Qingdao
  
• Canon - suspended operations at three plants
• Honda and Nissan - stopped production for two days
• Mazda - stopped production at Nanjing factory for four days
• Sony - discouraging non-essential travel to China
• Seven & I Holdings - closed 13 supermarkets and 198 convenience stores
• Toyota - factories and offices operating as normal

However, fellow carmaker Toyota, which was also targeted in the eastern city of Qingdao, said its factories and offices were operating as normal.

The overseas edition of the People's Daily, the main newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, said that although Beijing was always "extremely cautious about playing the economic card", it could resort to economic retaliation if the dispute continues.

"In struggles concerning territorial sovereignty, if Japan continues its provocations, then China will take up the battle," it said.

Calls for boycotts of Japanese businesses and products have been spreading in the streets and on the internet.

Banners were put up at the Silk Market in Beijing reading: "The Silk Market boycotts Japanese goods."

Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta called for "calm and restraint on all sides".

"It is in everybody's interest for Japan and China to maintain good relations and to find a way to avoid further escalation," he said, after meetings with the Japanese foreign and defence ministers.

Mr Panetta, currently on a week-long trip to Asia, arrived in China late on Monday and is due to meet the Chinese defence minister and vice-president.
Burning flags The disputed islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, are uninhabited but resource-rich.

They have been a contentious issue between the two countries and were the focus of a major diplomatic row between them in 2010.

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

• Q&A: China-Japan islands row

The dispute flared up again over the weekend after Tokyo said it had agreed to purchase them, leading to thousands of protesters taking to the streets in various parts of China.

During the demonstrations, protesters burnt Japanese flags and targeted Japanese-made cars.

There have been reports of a Toyota dealership in China being damaged during the demonstrations.
The attacks on some Japanese businesses have raised fears about the impact of the protests on Japanese investment in China.

Analysts said that China, which was known for being a low-cost manufacturing base, has seen a steady rise in labour costs in recent times, negating a big advantage it had on other countries in the region.

They said that the protests could result in some Japanese firms starting to look beyond China for further expansion.

"They might want to consider expanding manufacturing operations in Thailand or in other nations that are more welcoming towards Japanese investment," said Shaun Rein of China Market Research Group.

He warned that such moves might have an impact on China's economic growth and also on the overall trade ties between Asia's two biggest economies.

"The trade relations are going to be damaged by the continuing protests, for sure."

[MinutemanCO]

I don't believe it coincidental that the conflict between Japan and China and the attacks on American embassies are happening concurrently.

[MinutemanCO]

Destabilization of American power globally is a priority goal on someone's list and seems to be ramping up right now. Add into that scenario escalating violence and economic collapse locally and we are heading toward a perfect storm.

[Malsua]

The Chinese are becoming what the US has been always been unjustly portrayed as by the media....an expansionist empire.

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I don't believe it coincidental that the conflict between Japan and China and the attacks on American embassies are happening concurrently.

Destabilization of American power globally is a priority goal on someone's list and seems to be ramping up right now. Add into that scenario escalating violence and economic collapse locally and we are heading toward a perfect storm.

Feels like we're being drawn into an orchestrated conflict.

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China Declares Economic War on Japan


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by John J. Xenakis 18 Sep 2012, 8:33 AM PDT post a comment

World View: China Declares Economic War on Japan

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com:

• Japan bolsters defenses as 1,000 Chinese fishing boats approach
• China declares economic war on Japan
• Chinese Communist Party urges punitive sanctions against Japan
• Quote: 'There won't be a war because it's bad for business!'
• Should we defend Japan against China?

Japan bolsters defenses as 1,000 Chinese fishing boats approach

The Japanese embassy in Beijing has suspended passport services and is bolstering its defenses around the Senkaku/Diayou islands, after media reports indicate that a flotilla of around 1,000 Chinese fishing boats was sailing towards them. Hundreds of Japanese businesses and the country's embassy suspended services in China on Tuesday, expecting further escalation in violent protests over a territorial dispute between Asia's two biggest economies. Reuters

China declares economic war on Japan

China is trying to hurt Japan economically, to gain leverage in its campaign to take control of the Senkaku/Diayou islands. In the 2010 confrontations, China took revenge on Japan by terminating shipments of rare earth minerals, needed for manufacturing of many of Japan's electronic products. In the current confrontation, the Beijing government is encouraging the Chinese people to demonstrate and protest against Japanese businesses in China. The government urged protesters not to use violence, but that part of the message is clearly not getting through. Protesters torched a Panasonic factory and Toyota dealership, looted and ransacked Japanese department stores and supermarkets in several cities. China's National Tourism Administration ordered travel companies last week to cancel tours to Japan over the weeklong National Day holiday in early October.AP and Bloomberg

Chinese Communist Party urges punitive sanctions against Japan

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is urging strong punitive sanctions against Japan, for its "well-orchestrated plan" to take control of the Senkaku/Diayou islands, according to the CCP's official newspaper:

The "nationalization" of the Diaoyu Islands by Japan after "purchasing" them from a "private owner" is ridiculous and cannot change the fact that they are Chinese territory. ... China should take strong countermeasures, especially economic sanctions, to respond to Japan's provocations. Military consideration, however, should be the last choice.

The United States has frequently used Article XXI Security Exceptions of the WTO (taken from the earlier General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) to impose economic sanctions on other countries. The security exception clause says a country cannot be stopped from taking any action it considers necessary to protect its security interests. That means a country can impose sanctions on enterprises, financial institutions, organizations and even other countries' central and local governments. Taking a cue from the US' practice, China can use the security exception clause to reduce the export of some important materials to Japan.

China didn't announce any sanctions against the Philippines in April, but it froze banana imports from that country in response to Manila's aggressive attitude in the Huangyan Island dispute. Though the economic countermeasure forced the Philippines on the back foot, it also harmed the interests of some Chinese enterprises.

So it is important for China to devise a sanction plan against Japan that would cause minimum loss to Chinese enterprises.

China Daily

Quote: 'There won't be a war because it's bad for business!'

How many times have people told me that Generational Dynamics is wrong about some geopolitical thing, saying, "There won't be a war because it's bad for business, and the business owners on both sides will make sure that there won't be a war." That whole concept is silly since, of course; if it were true then there never would be any wars.

But now you're seeing that in fact "bad for business" does not STOP war preparations, it PROPELS them. The fact that "business is good" between Japan and China does not mean there won't be a war; to the contrary, "business is good" only becomes an additional weapon to be used in the preliminaries. And as the quote above from China Daily notes, China has already used economic warfare against the Philippines of the Scarborough Shoal, some islands that are clearly the Philippines' sovereign territory. The Chinese aren't saying that a war would be bad for business. They're saying, let's use economic warfare, and if that doesn't work, then we'll use military warfare.

The Chinese always talk about how they want "harmonious relations" with everyone. What they mean by that is, "Relations will be harmonious as long as you do everything we demand, and give us everything we want. Otherwise, we'll kill you."

Should we defend Japan against China?

Some web site readers of my previous article had a a heated discussion over whether we should come to Japan's defense against China, in view of the horrific atrocities that the Japanese committed during World War II. Leading the "anti" side of the debate was someone from the Silent generation who experienced some of those atrocities.

I have two points to make. The first is something I've said before: The United States has no choice. The U.S. became Policeman of the World with the Truman Doctrine, put forth by President Harry Truman in 1947. Since then, we've signed defense treaties with numerous countries, and all of them would go into total panic if we repudiated our treaty with Japan.

The second is more generational. Once upon a time, the British and the colonists committed atrocities on one another. A little later, the North and South committed atrocities on one another. In WW II, Germany and Italy joined Japan as our enemies, while Russia was our friend. Since then, new generations have replaced all of those people. In some cases, the new generations decided they like us, and in other cases the new generations decided they hate us. New American generations are barely aware of the atrocities our enemies committed, and they're equally unaware of such things as the firebombing of Dresden or the nuking of Japan.

A generational crisis war transforms a country, gives the country a new character, and makes it a different country than it was before the crisis war. World War II transformed America completely, changing it from a laissez-faire economy to a heavily regulated economy, and from an isolationist nation to the Policemen of the World. Essentially, every nation starts from "square one" in the Recovery Era that follows a crisis war.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2...-boat-flotilla

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Chinese General: Prepare for Combat

Top Chinese general in unusual move tells troops to ready for combat with Japan



China’s most powerful military leader, in an unusual public statement, last week ordered military forces to prepare for combat, as Chinese warships deployed to waters near disputed islands and anti-Japan protests throughout the country turned violent.

Protests against the Japanese government’s purchase of three privately held islands in the Senkakus chain led to mass street protests, the burning of Japanese flags, and attacks on Japanese businesses and cars in several cities. Some carried signs that read “Kill all Japanese,” and “Fight to the Death” over disputed islands. One sign urged China to threaten a nuclear strike against Japan.

Gen. Xu Caihou, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, considered the most senior military political commissar, said Friday that military forces should be “prepared for any possible military combat,” state run Xinhua news agency reported.

Heightened tensions over the Senkakus come as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in China Monday.

Panetta, in comments made in Japan shortly before traveling to China, said, “We are concerned by the demonstrations, and we are concerned by the conflict that is taking place over the Senkaku islands.”

“The message I have tried to convey is we have to urge calm and restraint on all sides,” he said, noting any “provocation” could produce a “blow up.”

Panetta repeated the U.S. position that it is neutral in the dispute over Japan’s Senkaku islands, a small chain of islets located south of Okinawa and north of Taiwan. But he also reaffirmed the U.S. defense commitment to Japan, a treaty ally.

“We stand by our treaty obligations,” Panetta said, echoing a similar commitment made during a 2010 standoff between Beijing and Tokyo over the Senkakus. ”They’re longstanding, and that has not changed.”

China claims the islands as its territory and calls them the Diaoyu islands.

“The message I have tried to convey is we have to urge calm and restraint on all sides,” he said, noting any “provocation” could produce a “blow up.”

Panetta repeated the U.S. position that it is neutral in the dispute over Japan’s Senkaku islands, a small chain of islets located south of Okinawa and north of Taiwan. But he also reaffirmed the U.S. defense commitment to Japan, a treaty ally.

“We stand by our treaty obligations,” Panetta said, echoing a similar commitment made during a 2010 standoff between Beijing and Tokyo over the Senkakus. ”They’re longstanding, and that has not changed.”

China claims the islands as its territory and calls them the Diaoyu islands.

Last week, following the Japanese government’s purchase of three of the Senkakus from private Japanese owners, six Chinese maritime security ships were deployed near the Senkaku islands, further heightening tensions.

Xu’s unusual comments followed reports in state-controlled Chinese media that opposed the Japanese government’s purchase of the three islands.

Xu said during a visit to military units near Taiyuan, in the northern province of Shanxi, “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.”

A U.S. official said the PLA’s most senior political general rarely makes such direct appeals to troops to prepare for combat.

Panetta told reporters en route to Japan, the first stop on a three-nation visit to Asia, “The United States does not take a position with regards to territorial disputes.”

In 2010, then-Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates invoked the U.S.-Japan defense treaty when tensions between China and Japan increased over Tokyo’s arrest of a Chinese fishing captain who rammed his boat against a Japanese coast guard vessel in waters near the Senkakus. Gates said the United States would “fulfill our alliance responsibilities” toward Japan.

Japan’s Coast Guard announced on Sept. 14 that six Chinese maritime patrol vessels sailed into Japanese-controlled waters near the Senkakus and the vessels ignored Japanese warnings for the ships to leave the area.

Other reports from China on Monday showed a convoy of hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels sailing toward the disputed islands.
The six Chinese ships entered Japanese waters near the island on Friday, and ignored Japanese coast guard orders for them to vacate what it said was its territorial waters.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed that six of its surveillance ships had entered the waters near the islands.

China’s aggressiveness in maritime disputes has garnered little attention in the presidential election campaign.

On Monday, President Obama criticized GOP nominee Mitt Romney for his attack on the administration for being soft on China through its weak response to China’s trade and currency policies.

The Chinese maritime warships near the Senkakus were reported last week by Xinhua as “routine patrols” near the islands to “assert the country’s sovereignty and protect fishermen.”

“The Diaoyou Islands and their affiliated islets have been China’s inherent territory since ancient times, and their surrounding waters are China’s traditional fishing ground,” the report said.

A classified Chinese government map from 1969 that was obtained by Japan’s government shows Beijing had labeled the islands as “Senkaku,” their Japanese name, and thus confirmed their control by Tokyo. The map, which was viewed by the Free Beacon, also had a dividing line south of the islands showing that they fall within Japanese territory.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R., Fla.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during a hearing last week that China’s behavior toward regional states was tantamount to bullying.

“While the world’s attention was turned to other crises, including Iran’s nuclear program and concerns over the faltering Euro, China has upped the ante, playing the role of a schoolyard bully towards its maritime neighbors,” Ros-Lehtinen said.

“From one end to the other of the South China Sea, Beijing has increased both in belligerence and bellicosity.”

Ros-Lehtinen said the United States, through the Navy, will stand by friends and allies in the region.

The Florida Republican said China is seeking to control the South China Sea and other coastal waters and sealanes because they are “central to the Chinese communist mandarins’ aspirations to re-establish the Middle Kingdom as the dominant power in Asia.”

“Whoever controls these sea lanes can dominate Asia—and beyond—by choking off that commerce and oil shipments to the major stakeholders in the Asian economic miracle,” she said.

Chinese efforts to dominate the western Pacific are increasing the possibility of naval clashes, Ros-Lehtinen said.

“Other global crises must not distract from our vital national interests in the South China Sea and the western Pacific,” she said during a hearing.

[vector7]

Protest in China outside of the U.S. Embassy-Crowds Demand U.S. Pay Back Their Money

| Sep. 18, 2012, 11:29 AM | 948 |

Ai Weiwei, the famous (and, within China, controversial) Chinese contemporary artist has tweeted a series of photos that show a small protest outside the US Embassy in Beijing today.

One image shows that the protest was relatively small:


Ai weiwei US Embassy

@aiww

According to Ai, dozens of protesters arrived at the US Embassy around 4pm and chanted "Down with US imperialism" and "Pay us back our money!"

The protests appear to be part of anti-Japanese protests in Japan on the 81st anniversary of the Manchurian incident. The dispute stems from a territorial dispute over the Diaoyu / Senkaku islands.

[Malsua]

Pay you back your money? LOL. If you lent a trillion dollars to Uncle Sam, you're the one with the problem.

[vector7]

Japan, S. Korea tensions continue

Updated: 2012-08-24 03:07 By ZHANG YUNBI and WANG CHENYAN ( China Daily)
Comments(14)

Bilateral spats continued to erupt on Thursday as Seoul protested Tokyo's accusation over their disputed islands, and Tokyo reportedly refused to accept its letter that Seoul returned.

Protesters march outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul on Thursday amid a continuing row over disputed islands. [Photo by Jung Yeon-je / Agence France-Presse]

Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun said on its website that an official from the South Korean embassy in Tokyo visited the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Thursday evening, presumably with the protest letter written by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and sent on Aug 19, but the South Korean official failed to enter the ministry.

Seoul earlier announced its decision to return the letter, in which Tokyo protests South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s Aug 10 visit to the disputed islands and remarks made by Lee regarding Japanese Emperor Akihito.

Hundreds of South Koreans protested in front of Japan’s embassy in Seoul on Thursday against Japan’s rival claim over the disputed islands, which South Korea calls Dokdo and Japan calls Takeshima.

In the wake of Lee’s visit to the islands, Japan lodged the dispute over the islands with the International Court of Justice, a move rejected by Seoul. South Korea has long accused Japan of turning a blind eye to historical issues.

In addition, Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba called South Korea's control over the islands "illegal" on Wednesday, a move that sparked South Korean Foreign Ministry’s official protest on Thursday.

And Tokyo on Thursday vowed to toughen measures on its rival claims over the islands against its neighbors amid a worsening diplomatic deadlock and upcoming domestic power reshuffle.

Noda, haunted by domestic political turbulence and poor polls, hinted that he is planning to hold the general election of the House of Representatives in early November, Kyodo News Agency quoted senior lawmakers of opposition Liberal Democratic Party as saying on Thursday.

Japanese Cabinet members on Thursday kept expressing hard-line stances over Japan’s rival claims over islands with China and South Korea.

The prime minister expressed to the lower house his will to confront the issues and vowed measures to "beef up maritime surveillance" over China’s Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea as well as the islands that Japan and South Korea both claim.

Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto said that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces troops "will not allow any foreign ship to approach even 1 millimeter".

Kyodo said that on Wednesday, the United States reaffirmed during a meeting in Washington between US and Japanese senior officials that the Diaoyu Islands issue falls under the scope of the US-Japan Security Treaty .

Shinsuke Sugiyama, director-general of the Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, told reporters that the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Kurt Campbell, repeated Washington’s stance over the islands.

The treaty, signed in 1960, obliges the US to defend Japan if it is attacked.

At the end of its occupation of Okinawa in 1972, the US transferred the "administrative rights" of the Diaoyu Islands to Japan. China has never recognized the deal "giving" them to Japan.

Washington and Tokyo on Tuesday began a military drill in the US' western Pacific islands of Guam and Tinian, an exercise that involves retaking an island.

Reports said the drill is aimed at "taking back" the Diaoyu Islands, and analysts said the US was throwing its military weight behind Japan over the Diaoyu Islands issue.



Japan renews provocation over Dokdo

09-18-2012 11:18

In an unprecedented provocation, all of Japan's overseas missions are uniformly conducting public relations campaigns to claim Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, officials here said Tuesday, indicating that a countermove by Seoul is under way.

"All of Japan's overseas diplomatic missions are in the midst of an extensive public relations drive over Dokdo. Such a move is unprecedented and it seems to be a very serious provocation," said a diplomatic source familiar with the matter.

The simultaneous launch of the campaigns by different missions worldwide is considered impossible without the orchestration of the foreign ministry in Tokyo, the source speculated.

Diplomatic tension between Seoul and Tokyo remains high following the unprecedented Aug. 10 visit to the rocky outcroppings of Dokdo in East Sea by President Lee Myung-bak, who cited Tokyo's unrepentant attitude over its brutal 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula as a key reason for the trip.

According to sources, Japanese embassies around the world have been contacting major figures from each country's political, academic and media circles, while sending materials about Dokdo to major institutions. The campaign probably began last week when Tokyo placed ads in its newspapers renewing its territorial claim over Dokdo, they added.

Seoul's officials expect Japan to target the United States for its extensive PR campaign, as it cites a San Francisco Peace Treaty, among others, as the basis for its territorial claim.

In the treaty that took effect in 1952, Japan renounced all of its rights, titles and claims to Korea, but made no mention that Dokdo belongs to Korea.

But the treaty mentioned only three Korean islands out of about 3,000, which means the omission of Dokdo does not affect the island's status.

In response to Japan's move, the Korean government has instructed overseas diplomatic missions to promote its stance of "no disputes over the islets as it is a Korean territory historically, geographically and under international law."

Korea is also preparing for an active public relations drive on social networking sites worldwide for Dokdo. Last week, Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan told reporters that his government will run counter ads in Japanese media.

Dokdo, which lies closer to Korea in the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, has long been a thorn in relations between the two countries. Korea keeps a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.

Korea views Tokyo's claims to Dokdo as a sign that Japan has not fully repented for its imperialist past and denies Korea's independence because the country reclaimed sovereignty over all of its territory, including Dokdo, after the colonial rule ended.


Korea to hold multinational maritime drill against spread of WMD

09-18-2012 14:40

Korea will host a multinational maritime drill aimed at intercepting weapons of mass destruction in its southern waters next week, the defense ministry said Tuesday.

Korea, the United States, Japan and Australia will carry out the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) exercise on Sept. 27 in waters 100 kilometers south of the southern port city of Busan, the ministry said.

Seven warships and 11 aircraft from the four nations will participate in the exercise.

Unlike the other three nations, however, a Japanese ship will not enter the Busan port, a senior official said, a decision believed to reflect the recent souring of relations between Seoul and Tokyo.

Ties between South Korea and Japan have plunged to one of their lowest ebbs after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made an unprecedented visit to the eastern islets of Dokdo last month. Japan claims the East Sea islets as its own.

"Japan seems to be aware of the anti-Japan sentiment in South Korea over Dokdo," the official said, asking anonymity due to sensitivity of the issue. "It seems that a Japanese warship will enter the port over worries that protests may take place near the Busan port."

Ahead of the drill, Korea's foreign ministry will host a meeting of the PSI's Operational Experts Group (OEG) in Seoul from Sept. 24-25 to discuss and test the simulated scenario and other measures, the ministry said.

Korea joined the 98-nation PSI in 2009 after North Korea conducted its second nuclear test in May of that year. It became a full member of the OEG the next year after the North's deadly attack against a Korean warship in March of 2010 prompted Seoul to seek a bigger role in the anti-WMD program.

Pyongyang has condemned the move as a "declaration of war" against Pyongyang.

The PSI was launched in 2003 under the George W. Bush administration to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction. North Korea is among the major targets of the initiative, which says it amounts to a naval blockade on the communist country.

[vector7]

Cyberattacks hit 19 Japan websites amid Chinese protests; police official says attacks seem to have originated in China - @KyodoNewsENG

http://www.breakingnews.com/

[vector7]

China Seeks Korea's Support in Territorial Claims

China has asked Korea for support in seeking UN confirmation of its claim to the outer limits of a continental shelf that lies under the Diaoyu or Senkaku Islands disputed between China and Japan.

Diplomatic sources in Seoul said China notified Korea of plans to submit the request to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

When the Korean government decided in July to submit a request to the CLCS about its rights to a deep sea trench near Okinawa, China told Seoul that issues involving "overlapping continental shelves are of mutual concern." The diplomatic source said the recent Chinese move shows it is hoping to ally itself with Korea in dealing with the matter.

But it seems also aimed at stepping up pressure on Japan over the Chinese claim to the Diaoyu Islands.

The Korean government believes joining hands with China would bolster its negotiating power in talks with Japan. But others say Seoul should be cautious about siding with China at a time when relations in the region are brittle due to a cross-fire of territorial claims and other divisive issues.

Seoul, meanwhile, plans to submit documents to the CLCS supporting its rights to a 19,000 sq. km continental shelf that stretches until the deep sea trench near Okinawa. The shelf is part of a region south of Jeju that falls under joint jurisdiction with Japan and is equivalent to 20 percent of the size of the Korean Peninsula.

But Japan does not want Korea to join development of the area, which has vast underwater reserves of petroleum and natural gas.

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/...091901268.html

[vector7]

Beijing demonstrators damage US ambassador's car

By DIDI TANG | Associated Press – 12 hrs ago

• Enlarge GalleryDemonstrators shout slogans as they march with Chinese national flags and banners near the Japanese consulate during a protest on the 81st anniversary of Japan's invasion of China, in Shanghai September 18, …

Related Content

• Enlarge PhotoAnti-Japan protesters hold portraits …
• Enlarge PhotoProtesters shout anti-Japan slogans …

BEIJING (AP) — A car carrying the U.S. ambassador to China was mildly damaged after becoming the target of boisterous anti-Japan demonstrators who were expressing outrage over a territorial dispute and marking the 81st anniversary of Japan's invasion of China.

The State Department said in a statement Wednesday that Ambassador Gary Locke was unhurt in Tuesday's incident, and that diplomats have expressed concerns to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The statement said around 50 protesters surrounded Locke's car as he tried to enter the embassy and were eventually removed by Chinese security personnel.

The incident comes amid heightened vigilance for American diplomats following violent attacks on U.S. embassies in Libya, Yemen and Egypt. The statement said embassy officials have asked the Chinese government to do everything possible to protect American facilities and personnel.

People across China have engaged in days of furious protests over some East China Sea islands, claimed by Beijing and Tokyo, that Japan purchased last week from a private owner.

The U.S., a close ally of Japan, has said it is staying out of the dispute, but it also been the target of Chinese anger.

On Tuesday the dispute mixed with remembrances of a 1931 incident that Japan used as a pretext to invade Manchuria, setting off a brutal occupation of China that ended only at the close of World War II. China marks every Sept. 18 by blowing sirens, but demonstrations such as those seen Tuesday are not routine.

Thousands of protesters marched in front of the Japanese Embassy, with some burning Japanese flags and throwing apples, water bottles and eggs. The daylong demonstration periodically spilled over to the nearby U.S. Embassy.

The islands are tiny rock outcroppings that have been a sore point between China and Japan for decades. Japan has claimed the islands since 1895. The U.S. took jurisdiction after World War II and turned them over to Japan in 1972.

The disagreement escalated last week when the Japanese government said it was purchasing some of the islands from their private owner. Japan considers it an attempt to thwart a potentially more inflammatory move by the governor of Tokyo, who had wanted not only to buy the islands but develop them. But Beijing sees Japan's purchase as an affront to its claims and its past calls for negotiations.

Beijing has sent patrol ships inside Japanese-claimed waters around the islands, and some state media have urged Chinese to show their patriotism by boycotting Japanese goods and canceling travel to Japan.

[Ryan Ruck]

Beijing Hints At Bond Attack On Japan

September 18, 2012

A senior advisor to the Chinese government has called for an attack on the Japanese bond market to precipitate a funding crisis and bring the country to its knees, unless Tokyo reverses its decision to nationalise the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea.

Jin Baisong from the Chinese Academy of International Trade – a branch of the commerce ministry – said China should use its power as Japan’s biggest creditor with $230bn (£141bn) of bonds to “impose sanctions on Japan in the most effective manner” and bring Tokyo’s festering fiscal crisis to a head.

Writing in the Communist Party newspaper China Daily, Mr Jin called on China to invoke the “security exception” rule under the World Trade Organisation to punish Japan, rejecting arguments that a trade war between the two Pacific giants would be mutually destructive.

Separately, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported that China is drawing up plans to cut off Japan’s supplies of rare earth metals needed for hi-tech industry.

The warnings came as anti-Japanese protests spread to 85 cities across China, forcing Japanese companies to shutter factories and suspend operations.

Fitch Ratings threatened to downgrade a clutch of Japanese exporters if the clash drags on. It warned that Nissan is heavily at risk with 26pc of its global car sales in China, followed by Honda with 20pc. Sharp and Panasonic both have major exposure. Japan’s exports to China were $74bn in the first half of this year. Bilateral trade reached $345bn last year.

Mr Jin said China can afford to sacrifice its “low-value-added” exports to Japan at a small cost. By contrast, Japan relies on Chinese demand to keep its economy afloat and stave off “irreversible” decline.

“It’s clear that China can deal a heavy blow to the Japanese economy without hurting itself too much,” he said. It is unclear whether he was speaking with the full backing of the Politburo or whether sales of Japanese debt would do much damage. The Bank of Japan could counter the move with bond purchases. Any weakening of the yen would be welcome.

A recent study by the US Defence Department concluded that a Chinese firesale of US debt was not a serious threat.

The US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, was in Beijing on Tuesday to try to stem the political crisis, calling for restraint on both sides.

He warned earlier that “provocations” over the islands could spiral out of control and lead to conflict.

Mr Panetta said the US is neutral but this is a hard balancing act, given the US nuclear umbrella for Japan and its use of military bases on Japanese soil as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier”. The ambiguity of the US role was glaring after a deal with Tokyo on Monday to build a new anti-missile radar shield – ostensibly against North Korea.

Diplomats say China is calibrating the crisis to probe the strength of US ties with Japan, knowing that alliance fatigue in Washington and the clumsy handling of the dispute by Tokyo has created a rare opportunity.

The Obama administration must navigate a delicate course. A tough line against China risks putting the world’s two superpowers on a collision course: a soft line risks setting off alarm bells in Japan and pushing the country towards rearmament.

Christian Le Miere from the International Institute for Strategic Studies said the crisis had become dangerous, citing Mao Zedong’s aphorism from 1930 that “a single spark can start a prairie fire”.

He said the region is “rife with historical enmity and chauvinism”, encouraged by Tokyo’s “seeming lack of contrition for wartime atrocities” and China’s own well-nurtured narrative of humiliation by foreigners.

China’s post-Maoist regime derives its legitimacy from nationalism, especially now that the boom is fading and China is losing some of its competitive edge.

The anti-Japanese fervour was systematically stoked by the “Patriotic Education Campaign” of Jiang Zemin in the 1990s to divert attention from party corruption and the growing gap between rich and poor.

But it is a double-edged sword for China’s leaders. “Given its potency, it is difficult to control. Nationalism can turn against the government, if it is perceived as doing too little,” he said.

Markets are already starting to price in an arms race in Asia. Shares of China’s North Navigation Control Technology, which makes missile systems, have jumped 30pc in recent days.

China is becoming self-sufficient in defence. It was the world’s biggest net importer of weapons six years ago. It fell to fourth place last year.

Japan is at the other extreme. An official report this year – “A Strategy for Survival” – said Japan’s spending on its “Self-Defence Force” had shrunk by 4pc in 10 years. It called for “urgent” action to rebuild the country’s military.

If there is any silver lining in an Asian arms race, it may at least soak up the region’s excess savings and pull the world out of semi-slump. But be careful what you wish for.

[Ryan Ruck]

‘All Japanese Must Be Killed’ Proclaims Sign Allegedly In Front Of Chinese Audi Dealership

September 18, 2012



China and Japan's dispute over the Japanese purchase of the Diaoyu Islands has started massive protests, shut down factories, and has threatened $340 billion in annual trade. A photo even purportedly showed an Audi dealer wishing all Japanese were dead.

And now, like any good scandal, Taiwanese animators are breaking it down for us, but they still have one pretty good question: "What the hell, Audi?"

The animation, which is done with the typical Taiwanese flair, shows just how the dispute started. It does take a bit of a comical slant on the situation which isn't really funny at all. Basically, it's your typical Taiwanese news animation.

The Audi angle has yet to be confirmed. Was it photoshopped, staged, or the actual opinion of its dealers? A quick analysis of the image in photoshop doesn't reveal any obvious forgery. Here's the full text:

"Even if graves cover our land, all Japanese must be killed. Even if our soil is not fit for growing crops anymore, we must get back the Diaoyu (fishing) Islands"

We have reached out to Audi to find out if it's real and they are trying to ascertain what exactly is happening in the photograph, but the reality isn't that important. The image is being passed around in China as if it's real and there are people who appear to agree with the sentiment.

It's not likely this will actually result in global war, but there are billions of dollars at stake in this dispute, as well as the economy of two nations that have hefty trade agreements with each other.

UPDATE: Audi issued the following statement to Jalopnik regarding the sign:

These might be dealer employees, but they are definitely not Audi China or FAW VW [VW's manufacturing co-venture in China] employees. Audi categorically distances itself from the message shown here. It is not the place of the Audi brand to enter political matters.

Audi also told us they weren't sure if sanctions would be placed against the dealer involved in the future.

Here's that Taiwanese news animation. These are always hilarious!

[American Patriot]

Why is Panetta warning JAPAN, an ALLY? Fuck him and this god damned administration. It's time to remove these fuckers from Office.

We need President Ryan.... er Romney.. lol