Japan Warns It May Fire On Chinese Aircraft Over Disputed Islands; China Retorts

China-Japan relations is like China-Taiwan relations. In other words, until I actually see missiles firing and bombs dropping, I'm going just assume it's politics as usual.

 

Well, Japan is hosting the most powerful and active military force in the world (incidentally, the biggest aggressor to China) by allowing 40,000 of those hostile troops and WMD's to be placed at the door step of China. Given the circumstances, China has been astonishingly well-behaved to date while being surrounded by the gravest of threats to its security and sovereignty.



Do people understand where these islands are?



China has little to gain by taking these islands, but a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT to lose by losing these islands. IMO China will never and should never give up those islands. Everyone knows what will happen if the Japanese have those islands at their mercy.

 

This is very worrying.

Of course, Mathloon starts posting something about one of his favorite topics, US military bases

 

The Chinese are so unimaginative - casting blame at the feet of the Japanese for all their domestic mismanagement. The people of China must cast aside their rulers and become the true proletariat state Mao invisioned for them.

 

Wasn't one of the original function of the United Nations (or maybe I'm thinking of League of Nations waaaay back) to settle these disputes and order certain islands towards certain nations? To be honest I just want these islands gone forever. Even if Japan does gain these islands (and I think they will simply remain in limbo for at least another decade), putting military bases there is so outlandish that I doubt it will ever happen. Someone needs to destroy these islands so that nobody can get them (North Korea I'm looking at you!).

 

no war please! i don't think anything major is going to happen. at worst, some naval and air combats. the islands are so small, no one in their right mind is going to station troops on it. whichever side that's going to lose is still going to claim them. the only way to settle it permanently is through negotiations.

 

Japan has no army, has an ailing economy, and an aged population. Their extreme right took over their government and killed off their growth. They're not winning if it ever comes to war.

 

I don't know, maybe, but it wouldn't really matter since both the US and China have veto power in the security council, which is where I assume such a dispute would be discussed. They would simply veto each others' proposals (Japan being represented by the US obviously) and waste scarce UN resources/time.

Further, countries only listen to UN if there's a tangible benefit involved. For China, giving away these strategically located islands is something for which they would very easily defy any UN decision if it ever came to that. Same with Japan.

In the interest of peace, I would prefer China or no one gets these islands. China simply cannot pose any increased threat to anyone, whereas Japan can and IMO would do so, even if indirectly.

Wiki:

Wow, I didn't even realize the US was already using these islands militarily.

Does anyone know why the 4 islets were sold to the Kurihara family, and then rented from them, and then bought back?

 

You have seriously gone off the deep end.

 

Excellent point -- I was thinking the same thing.

 

yes, I think the first thing Japan would do with those islands is, finally, realize their giant robot factory (secretly of course, until it's too late.)

 

Yep, it will change the world. EVERYONE knows that. These islands are the most important islands EVAH.

 

Japan is trying to use the threat of weapons as a deterrence? Shh, don't tell CometsWin!

 

ZeroHedge is a fringe website. They have been preaching the financial apocalypse almost daily for years now.

 

Zero Hedge is simply re-blogging AP reports.

 

Don't know if you're sarcastic since it's hard to detect on a message board, but to China they really are. The poster Child Plz actually breaks down in this post, and his point is that the US must ensure China don't get the islands to control China's international sea access rights.

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=7191773&postcount=122

That of course is the exact reason that if the dispute does get serious, it's unlikely that China doesn't use military force to force the issue. If China ever really loses access to the Pacific ocean based on international law, I see a couple of pretty bad scenarios happening.

1) Not caring about international and move in the sea anyways, daring a military conflict if it arises if it's sea presence is impede upon.

2) Fight with Japan to take over the islands

3) Taking a much more aggressive stance than they do now that Taiwan belongs to PRC, move it's naval ships around Taiwan's international waters and daring conflict.

In all reality, letting Diaoyu islands to be disputed (by both sides) so every one can save face is probably the most diplomatic solution there is. People just need to stop their pissing contest.

 

I am not fan of the Japanese government but I highly doubt they will actually go to war over these, neither will the PRC, and that the US would support Japan in a war over these islands. An East Asian war between the PRC and Japan will be disastrous to the US as it will devastate the global economy.

First off you have to determine which "China" you are talking about. The PRC never had control of these islands and the historically the strongest claim to them is ROC / Taiwan claim. Japan has them because they took over Taiwan after the First Sino Japan war and then following WWII the US controlled them and then handed them to the Japanese rather than considering them Taiwanese territory. Anyway at the time neither the PRC or ROC were in a position to do anything about it. There actually were protests in Taiwan at the time but the ROC government wasn't going to go against the US and Japan in the midst of the Cold War.

As far as the location of the islands if you are looking at them as a military asset keep in mind these islands really aren't more than glorified rocks. The biggest one probably couldn't hold more than a company of soldiers and base a patrol boat. The value of them isn't militarily but that it gives Japan a territorial foothold on the Asian continental shelf and access to mineral and fishing rights.

As you the link you posted states the islands were used by the US military for target practice.

 

I do not agree.... The United States would get involved.