Growing tension over the Senkaku islands

[Malsua]

As a note, since I'm skeptical of everything, I took the below picture to a native Chinese speaker I work with and she confirmed that it indeed says what is being claimed here. I did NOT prompt her on what i thought it says. I literally cropped the picture to just the sign and took it to her.

‘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]

Well, that tears it. The Chinese and Japanese will be at war soon enough......

[vector7]

Is Passive U.S. Encouraging Japan-China Conflict?

Posted 09/19/2012 06:53 PM ET



Foreign Policy: As the president parties with Beyonce and Jay-Z, and the national media focus on an entirely defensible statement Mitt Romney made five months ago, Asia edges toward war. Repeat: Asia edges toward war.

China and Japan are engaged in their most bitter row since World War II over three islands in the Senkaku chain that both nations claim.

Since that could trigger U.S. pledges of mutual defense with Japan, you'd think it might be the subject of an urgent national debate. But you'd be wrong.

Instead, the increasingly ridiculous and trivial mainstream media are focused solely on trashing Romney. And so, apparently, is the Obama administration.

So let us put this straight: The China-Japan dispute could become a full-on war, one in which we would have no choice but to get involved.

Yet, the official U.S. response has been bizarrely passive, as if the No. 2 and No. 3 economies in the world on the verge of conflict at a time the global economy is teetering is of no consequence.

This dispute isn't new. The waters surrounding the islands hold huge deposits of oil and gas — making them a tempting target. Last week, after Japan bought three of the Senkaku islands from a private owner, China sent a flotilla of navy and fishing boats to physically assert its claim — and perhaps, if a skirmish results, to start a war.

In a burst of nationalism, some in China have called for boycotts of Japanese goods. Anti-Japanese riots have broken out in nearly 100 cities, with demonstrators tacitly encouraged by the Chinese government.

In response, Japanese companies are closing shop in China. Such major businesses as Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Toyota, Panasonic, Canon, 7-11 and clothing retailer Uniqlo shuttered plants or stores following the riots.

This could turn into an economic war first — with a real one to follow.

Japan has more than a third of a trillion dollars in total annual trade with China. Should it stop buying Chinese goods, China's slowdown could turn into a crash.

Meanwhile, China is threatening to dump the $230 billion of Japanese government bonds it owns, and is threatening to cut off exports of rare earth — used widely in the tech industry — to Japan.

To top it all off, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was in China this week, talking trade and defense among other things, as all this was going down.

If China felt intimidated or otherwise quieted by Panetta's presence, it sure didn't show. Though the U.S. has tried desperately to appear neutral, China sees this as weakness.

On Tuesday, 50 demonstrators damaged the car of the U.S. ambassador in a naked act of intimidation. We should demand an apology, but haven't.

Then again, many countries these days feel free to intimidate — even murder — our envoys. This is what a policy of diplomatic and military weakness buys us.

Two nations that together make up 17% of the world's GDP move toward war — and where do we stand?

Obama has time for David Letterman, but where's his leadership here? And why is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whom we're told is so competent, seemingly doing nothing to stop this disaster from happening?

[American Patriot]

Jay-z and Beyonce....

So, which Czars are they?

[MinutemanCO]

Any chance that the China-Japan impending conflict is a feint in order to draw the US into a war with the Chinese? It would open up Israel and the ME to other influences. The reason I'm asking is that I can recall somewhere int he not-too-distant past that there were agreements (I think they were economic) between China and Japan. What's the point of going through those exercises if a war was inevitable?

[American Patriot]

I think it's not too important if it were a feint or not. Whatever does the job is what I am thinking.

The ME is in a fucking uproar.... and Russia is being asses, China is being asses, we've been targeted by terrorists AGAIN and no one did SHIT to stop it from happening.

I guess it's not going to matter where the first real shots are fired, right?

[MinutemanCO]

It's definitely accelerating toward something. Conflict seems inevitable.

[American Patriot]

Yeah.

We have less than two months left for elections. Obama is hiding everything he can about the jobs numbers, economic disaster, and terrorist attacks on Americans.

Today I'm heariing the polls are tied up exactly now.

The administration is lying about Bengazi and the attacks on the Ambassador.

The Israelis are chopping at the bit to destroy Iran's nuke sites and we're fighting it tooth and nail.

Why were there NO Marines in the Embassy?

Why is the White House LYING through it's teeth?

Why are they lying about the "movie"?

Why aren't we helping Japan?

Why are all these assholes in OFFICES...

[Ryan Ruck]

Changed the thread title to show proper ownership of the islands.

[American Patriot]

/lol

[vector7]

Panetta tours Chinese naval base without reporters

Published: 09.20.12, 20:25 / Israel News

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is getting a rare glimpse inside a Chinese naval base and will be touring two of its ships.

But details of his visit like much of the information about China's military were off limits to the media traveling with him. Instead, the reporters got beer. (AP)

[vector7]

Alaska F-22s deployed to Pacific even as tensions escalate between China, Japan

Ben Anderson | Sep 18, 2012

Alaska’s fleet of F-22 fighter jets and their elite pilots have been deployed to an airbase in the Pacific U.S. territory of Guam, according to officials at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. The deployment has been planned for some time, but happens to coincide with a period of escalating tension in the Pacific Theater, as Japan and China dispute who has the rights to a set of uninhabited, resource-rich islands.

A press release sent out Monday night from JBER said that the F-22 Raptors were deployed to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, located nearly 2,000 miles from China. According to public affairs officer Capt. Ashley Conner, it is the first time since January of 2011 that the F-22s have been deployed to the region, and is part of a series of rotations that began in 2009.

“This deployment is the second F-22 Pacific Command theater deployment since 2011,” Conner said. “The F-22s from Langley AFB, Virginia were the first to deploy. It is a rotational deployment that signifies a continued commitment to regional stability and security and allows our units to become familiar with operating in the Pacific theater.”

The move to the Pacific is interesting in light of the heightened tension between Japan and China, originating from a dispute over what the Japanese call the Senkaku Islands and the Chinese refer to as the Diaoyu Islands. While some of the debate revolves around the fishing waters around the islands -- China launched a 1,000-fishing-vessel fleet over the weekend -- that’s not the real issue.

"These islands are just tiny little rocks in the ocean, not inhabitable, so the land itself is not really the point," said Dr. Paul Dunscomb, a professor of East Asian history at the University of Alaska Anchorage. "But the ocean territories and the seabed resources around the islands are very much the point, in particular oil and gas and minerals."

The F-22s based out of Langley are currently stationed in Kadena, Japan, very close to the islands in question. The U.S. has a security treaty with Japan which would obligate military intervention should the situation escalate, but Conner said that this most recent deployment is entirely unrelated the situation.
“These deployments are a prudent measure to maintain a credible deterrent posture and presence in the region and not in response to any specific situation,” Conner said. “This deployment is just resuming the F-22 deployment rotation.”

Still, given the close scrutiny on the situation in the Pacific and China and Japan’s long history of distrust, the timing of the move is intriguing. According to Dunscomb, bad blood remains in China over the occupation of that country by Japanese forces for about a half-century beginning in the late 19th century and ending with World War II. Dunscomb said that hard feelings about atrocities committed by the Japanese during those years have been etched into the national consciousness of China.

Of course, in a country where public protests are often quickly squashed, why have Chinese authorities allowed protests to persist over Japanese occupation of the Senkaku Islands? Well, Dunscomb said, it might be to the Chinese government’s advantage.

"The Chinese government in particular finds it useful to keep this alive," he said. "It allows those protests it thinks are useful, comes down like a ton of bricks on any protests it finds (not) useful."

He said that a compromise might need to be reached in order to resolve the situation, one that might see China giving up maritime rights in certain areas in exchange for others. In particular, that could mean the Arctic, which China has made noise about getting involved in.

But it may not end so smoothly, and the situation may escalate militarily, which could put those F-22s to much different use than the one they were sent to Guam for.

"(China) might just feel that they have the power to do it, because they are convinced they are not only stronger than Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, but because they believe America is a 'declining power' and there's nothing we can do about it," Dunscomb said.

Contact Ben Anderson at ben(at)alaskadispatch.com

[vector7]

US Assist Secretary of State Kurt Campbell: Japan-US security treaty covers Senkakus



A senior US State Department official has reiterated that the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea are clearly covered by the Japan-US security treaty.

US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell was speaking at a hearing of the Senate foreign relations subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs on Thursday.

Tension is growing between Japan and China over a territorial dispute involving the Senkaku islands.

Campbell said the United States is concerned by recent demonstrations in China and by the potential damage the dispute could cause to the partnership between Japan and China.

He said the United States is not taking a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands. But Campbell said the US views Japan as maintaining administrative control of the islands.

He also spoke about China's creation of a new administrative area in the disputed islands in the South China Sea in July and strengthening military presence in the area.

He said he did not expect these moves, and expressed concern over the military measures in particular.

Meanwhile, a US defense source says Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told the Chinese Vice President that the disputed islands in the East China Sea are covered by the US-Japan security treaty.

Tensions are arising between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands, which are controlled by Japan and claimed by China and Taiwan.

A senior US defense official told NHK that Panetta made the remark when he met Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday.

Panetta expressed hope that the dispute will be settled peacefully through dialogue between China and Japan.

The US defense chief reportedly said the US has security obligations under the bilateral pact with Japan, hinting at possible US involvement if Japan and China begin a military confrontation.

Panetta also reportedly conveyed the US stance to Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie.

His remarks to Chinese top officials are seen as a US effort to urge China to avoid a further increase in tensions with Japan.

Video at link:

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/...1_22.html?play

[American Patriot]

"possible US involvement"...

Better be to the hilt

[vector7]

China Showdown? Carriers Stennis & Washington Team-Up along with F22 Squadrons from Alaska. F22s Deploy to Hawaii

September 22, 2012 Print Version
Source: Investment Watchblog

The Stennis is heading for the Persian Gulf– will Washington following making it 4 carriers off Iran’s coast?
Or are they being positioned for a showdown with China?

120920-N-SF704-238 WESTERN PACIFIC OCEAN (Sept. 20, 2012) Operating to ensure security and stability in the vital Asia-Pacific region, two of the U.S. Navy’s 11 global force aircraft carriers conducted readiness operations at the conclusion of exercise Valiant Shield.

The Bremerton, Washington-based aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), foreground, the forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), background, along with the San Diego-based guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) exercised surface and anti-submarine training events as well as integrated flight operations in order to respond quickly to any future crises in the region.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...94398298_n.jpg
http://www.facebook.com/stennis74

Looks like they are both positioned for a China conflict.

Washington just pulled into Guam on the heels of the deployment of an F22 squadron from Alaska.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/uss-ge...51040522552452

Alaska Reserve F-22 unit becomes fully operational

“Fully operation capable means that we are ready and able to execute our wartime tasking,” said Radliff.

http://www.f-16.net/news_article4622.html

F22’s Deploy from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska

http://www.dvidshub.net/video/156201...#ixzz26wS5roEc

Carter: “Our newest forces are going to the Pacific first.” Says after highlighting F22 deployment and plans to station F35s in region.

https://twitter.com/DoDBuzz

Hawaii ANG has full complement of F-22 Raptors

http://www.f-16.net/news_article4624.html
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/1...medium=twitter

Gen. Hostage: F22 is fully deployable … Our enemy sees it and it scares them.

https://twitter.com/usairforce

U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF OPERATIONS (Sept. 19, 2012) – An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the Jolly Rogers of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 103 launches from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69).

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...55615406_n.jpg

The Economist

This week’s cover preview: Could China and Japan really go to war over these? Sadly, yes.



https://twitter.com/TheEconomist/sta...210946/photo/1

[vector7]

Japan urged by China's People's Daily to "repent" over Diaoyu Islands

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/ch..._131867932.htm

English.news.cn 2012-09-23 14:57:37

BEIJING, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of
the Communist Party of China, has said the Diaoyu Islands issue concerns
China's territorial sovereignty and China will not compromise even with "half
steps."

Japan has said it wants to mend relations with China but the Japanese government continues to insist that tough measures will be used to settle territorial issues, according to the newspaper commentary on Sunday.

China asked Japan to immediately stop all acts that harm China's territorial sovereignty, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said late Saturday. This came after some Japanese people landed on the Diaoyu Islands Friday evening saying that they were "preventing Taiwanese activists from landing on the islets."

Japanese right-wing groups staged a mass anti-China demonstration in Tokyo on Saturday, chanting, "China, stop the invasion of Japan," vowing to defend the "Senkakus Islands" (Diaoyu Island and affiliated islets) and safeguard Japan's territorial integrity.

"Japan's aforementioned act is a severe infringement upon China's territorial sovereignty. They make trouble out of nothing and call white black," said the People's Daily commentary.

It said Japanese right-wing forces have long caused trouble on the Diaoyu Islands and that the Japanese government has misjudged the situation and colluded with the right wing, plotting to strengthen their control over Diaoyu Island and affiliated islets.

The "two-man act" played by the Japanese government and the right wing over the Diaoyu Islands issue was "not accidental," but an indication of the context of Japan's accelerated right-leaning tendency, toughened foreign polices and strained relations with its neighbors, the commentary said.

Japan's two-decade economic downturn has rapidly changed the power balance between China and Japan, plunging some Japanese people into frustration and anxiety and prompting them to hold a hard line as a political "magic weapon" to deal with China, it said.

"The severe situation for Sino-Japanese relations has been caused by Japan single-handedly," it said.

Not taking into account the resolute opposition and solemn representations by the Chinese side, the Japanese government's "illegal and ineffective purchase" of part of the Diaoyu Islands, which is China's inherent territory, severely infringes upon China's territorial sovereignty and seriously damages Chinese people's feelings, it said.

The "island-purchase" farce gets Japan into a passive situation, the article said, adding under increased pressure, it has expressed hope to repair Sino-Japanese relations via improved communication and bilateral talks.

However, it is not a mere lip service that gets things moving forward. The Japanese government must take "frank and practical actions" and fundamentally change its wrongful act if it really wants to mend bilateral relations.

"How will the Sino-Japanese relations be mended if Japan does not repent?"

The article said Japan must immediately cease actions infringing upon China's territorial sovereignty.

China will continue to take measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands, the article said, adding the government and people will not compromise on such issue.

[American Patriot]

Well, I can see clearly now - that Washington won't fire a shot at the Chinese.

Ain't gonna happen. Obama is just too dead set on turning America into the Communist country. First Socialism, drive down and destroy the economy, then eventually USA will be nothing but a back water banana republic minus the bananas unless you've got millions of bucks to buy a few.

Then comes Communism. And no, we won't fire on the Chinese.

[vector7]

China announces names of geographic entities on Diaoyu Islands

English.news.cn 2012-09-22 18:30:37

BEIJING, Sept. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- China’s State Oceanic Administration or SOA and the Ministry of Civil Affairs have jointly released a list of standardized names for the geographic entities on the Diaoyu Island and some of its affiliated islets.

The list also relates to the surrounding waters. The announcement details the Chinese-language names as well as the descriptions of the geographic locations of various mountains, creeks, capes and other geographic entities.

The names, as normalized by the SOA and approved by the State Council, are accompanied by their pinyin codes, the phonetic system that romanizes Chinese characters. The SOA has also released a set of location maps for the entities.

The fresh statement comes after the SOA released last Saturday a string of geographic coordinates of the Diaoyu Island and some of its affiliated islets, in a new move to affirm China’s sovereignty.

(Source: CNTV.cn)

[vector7]

Diaoyu Islands become hunting grounds for unmanned Chinese drones

• China
• September 23, 2012
• By: Robert Tilford

The new Chinese UAV was likely photographed on the Chengdu Aircraft Corp.’s ramp. Photographs emerging from Chinese Internet sources show a new design featuring a novel joined-wing layout.

China said it will deploy unmanned aircraft to monitor the Diaoyu Islands and other disputed islets as it postponed a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of Sino-Japan diplomatic ties (see article: Drones to spy on disputed islands http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_d...20120924&fc=10 ).

Xinhua said the recent postponement of the 40th anniversary ceremony was due to the dispute over the Diaoyus (see also video: China Calls Japan's Diaoyu Island Purchase "Illegal" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUekEvo6xSQ ).

The Senkaku Islands,also known as the Diaoyu Islands in Mainland China or Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of uninhabited islands controlled by Japan in the East China Sea.

The islands are strategically located roughly due east of Mainland China, northeast of Taiwan, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot on board. Its flight is either controlled autonomously by computers in the vehicle, or under the remote control of a navigator, or pilot (in military UAVs called a Combat Systems Officer on UCAVs) on the ground or in another vehicle.

In this case the unmanned aircraft will be able to compensate for China’s limitations of satellite and aerial monitoring. Images generated by unmanned aircraft will be more accurate than those from satellites and may fly continuously in excess of 16 hours.

The unmanned aircraft has “already collected data from the area around Jiangsu, a province just above Shanghai”, according to Hong Kong Standard report. China is also increasing the use of drones to strengthen the nation's marine surveillance capabilities.

(see report: China to promote drones for marine surveillance) http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/ch..._123750476.htm

[American Patriot]

I guess I wouldn't want to sail up there to those islands now. lol