Diaoyu or Senkaku Islands
Image Provided by the South China Morning Post
I actually wrote this blog post about two months ago I believe and found that I never published it. I think it would still prove beneficial to publish it because the NHK and CCTV have continued to dwell on this story. I understand its a serious issue for numerous reasons and I believe this problem will spark increasing instability in the region. My only prayer is that these countries can put their differences aside and resolve the issue. Hope you enjoy the post!
Countries across the world have had territorial disputes for centuries, especially in Greater Asia and Southeast Asia. Within the past month, the Japanese government decided to purchase the Senkaku Islands from a private Japanese citizen to gain sovereignty over these islands. The Senkaku Islands (in Chinese they are known as the Diaoyu Islands) are also claimed by Taiwan and Mainland China. Since the purchase of the Senkaku islands by the Japanese government, there have been violent protests across Mainland China, including Hong Kong against Japanese businesses and Japanese citizens. At one point the Japanese government was encouraging Japanese nationals to return home. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi spoke within the past couple of days at a UN meeting,
“The moves taken by Japan are totally illegal and invalid. They can in no way change the historical fact that Japan stole Diaoyu and its affiliated islands from China and the fact that China has territorial sovereignty over them,” said the Chinese minister.
The issue has been escalating over the past few weeks and lately the Japanese media has been downplaying Japan’s stance on purchasing these islands as to not encourage Chinese opposition. The only comment I will make on this issue concerning sovereignty is it seems as though these islands were neither China’s or Japan’s, but since Japan purchased them from a private individual, I would think they belong to Japan. I am not entirely convinced by this action though, because both country’s have such a bias spin on the matter. China has been flooded with anti-Japanese propaganda for sometime now, so I would not necessarily believe the Chinese media outlets, but Japan equally suffers from media bias because of nationalism. Some blogs have been calling such arguments over these small islands as pointless and a waste of time. The issue at hand is not about territory per say, the real issue is Japan never apologizing for the atrocities that happened during WWII and the emotional scars festering between the two for the past several decades. These islands represent a much greater issue at hand than just a territorial dispute and I believe we will continue to see stronger acts of aggression between China and Japan in the upcoming months.
branhow.com 