Tensions escalate between Japan and China

By on September 28, 2012 in News 15

Tensions between Japan and China over disputed islands continues to escalate. A report from the Guardian states that both sides have refused to step back for fear of losing face.

 

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ben A. Gonzales (CC)

“There is a danger of China and Japan having a military conflict,” said Yan Xuetong, one of China’s most influential foreign policy strategists, and a noted hawk.

“One country must make a concession. But I do not see Japan making concessions. I do not see either side making concessions. Both sides want to solve the situation peacefully, but neither side can provide the right approach,” he added.

He warned that unless one side backs down, there could be a repeat of the Falklands Conflict in Asia.

 

This dispute over the islands began when Japan bought the islands in the East China Sea from their private owner. This caused a wave of anti-Japanese demonstrations across China. In a statement at the UN, Chinese Foreign Minister, Yang Jiechi, stated that the islands “have been China’s sacred territory since ancient times” and that “The Japanese move is a gross violation of China’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, an outright denial of the outcomes of victory of the world anti-fascist war and a grave challenge to the post-war international order,”.  Both countries have dispatched patrol ships to the area, and many believe that an “accidental” collision could be the catalyst for this to become a shooting war.

Read more at the Guardian.

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  • Disky

    Oooooh Sheeby cho chaw!  Bobba dobba fee wabba doe dah beddy.  Hambada bamba boo.

  • http://buzzcoastin.posterous.com BuzzCoastin

    The uninhabited islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are also claimed by Taiwan.
    South of Okinawa and north of Taiwan, they are about as far from Japan as they can get.

    The fight is about oil
    and who gets to drill it, pump it, fondle it and use it.
    All the posturing is about how much of a share each gets.

    Japan’s Big Brother, Uncle Homeland and his Navy
    have a US Navy fleet in the South China sea
    bigger than China’s entire Navy

  • http://buzzcoastin.posterous.com BuzzCoastin

    The uninhabited islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are also claimed by Taiwan.
    South of Okinawa and north of Taiwan, they are about as far from Japan as they can get.

    The fight is about oil
    and who gets to drill it, pump it, fondle it and use it.
    All the posturing is about how much of a share each gets.

    Japan’s Big Brother, Uncle Homeland and his Navy
    have a US Navy fleet in the South China sea
    bigger than China’s entire Navy

    • http://www.facebook.com/eric.fischer.73 Eric Fischer

      But China has a lot of non-military leverage on the U.S. This might be a rare incident of a conflict the U.S. CAN’T bully its way into the middle of. Maybe.
      Might be interesting.

    • http://www.facebook.com/eric.fischer.73 Eric Fischer

      But China has a lot of non-military leverage on the U.S. This might be a rare incident of a conflict the U.S. CAN’T bully its way into the middle of. Maybe.
      Might be interesting.

      • http://buzzcoastin.posterous.com BuzzCoastin

        China has no military leverage on the US,
        the whole world combined has a smaller military the Uncle Homeland
        but it does have economic leverage:
        China is the largest owner of worthless T-bills
        88.5% of all US consumer goods are made in China
        China is the largest trader partner for the US & Japan
        Chinese have added significant revenue to Japanese retailers
        Japan buys all its rare earth minerals from China
        most US global corporations are big in China

        but all three countries are desperate for oil
        so wheel sea what happens

      • http://buzzcoastin.posterous.com BuzzCoastin

        China has no military leverage on the US,
        the whole world combined has a smaller military the Uncle Homeland
        but it does have economic leverage:
        China is the largest owner of worthless T-bills
        88.5% of all US consumer goods are made in China
        China is the largest trader partner for the US & Japan
        Chinese have added significant revenue to Japanese retailers
        Japan buys all its rare earth minerals from China
        most US global corporations are big in China

        but all three countries are desperate for oil
        so wheel sea what happens

    • Calypso_1

      oil…fondle it
      d-(~_^)-b

    • Calypso_1

      oil…fondle it
      d-(~_^)-b

  • MoralDrift

    yeah, this is also for Chinese domestic consumption. As in nice little vent and distraction for the masses…but they need to put a stop to it, i’m sick of hearing people talk about 日本 this 日本 that….
    The violence and the ignorance on the issue from children to adults has been staggering, frightening, and also enlightening as to how ignorance and hate operate in other parts of the globe

  • MoralDrift

    yeah, this is also for Chinese domestic consumption. As in nice little vent and distraction for the masses…but they need to put a stop to it, i’m sick of hearing people talk about 日本 this 日本 that….
    The violence and the ignorance on the issue from children to adults has been staggering, frightening, and also enlightening as to how ignorance and hate operate in other parts of the globe

    • Jin The Ninja

      about  日本, i think there is a lot of jingoistic rhetoric and the stirring of nationalist sentiment that goes along with it- so i’m inclined to agree. however, there is a lot of unresolved hostility to  日本 from mainlanders because of obvious historical factors.
      it is interesting though, that taiwanese and singaporean chinese who lived through the war
      are very much inclined to take a ‘the past is the past’ attitude towards the japanese. even in light of the unacknowledged war crimes and atrocities many of them lived through.
      and obviously geopolitics and oil intersect in a big way. which plays into a lot of posturing.
      and i think perhaps mainland, feels equal or greater than in stature and face to 日本 due to the last 25 year economic gains- so they are ready to elevate the rhetoric to something more hostile.

      • MoralDrift

        There is no question about the historical crimes; the problem is the CCP needs external enemies so where as other Asian states have been able to forge better ties with 日本 based on economic mutual interest and the recognition that ‘the past is the past’ 中国 still clings to what is an irrational love/hate, admiration/jealousy dynamic. This wouldn’t be unique among Asian states, except that it is blatant national policy, as the demonstrations and two-minute hates went on for a couple days. I’ve heard anecdotes about demonstrators with signs calling for reform being arrested while many property and some violent crimes went largely unpunished by security personnel. 

        Compare this to unrest at Foxconn, where it was immediately crushed. 

        • Jin The Ninja

          great points.

        • Jin The Ninja

          great points.