SICK OF CHINA’S EMPTY THREATS?
Japan to Jiabao: You Don’t Have the Balls!
Image of the day:
The detained Chinese fishing trawler is flanked by two Japanese Coast Guard vessels during an investigation by Japanese authorities near Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture of Japan Sept. 12, 2010. (Xinhua, File Photo). Image may be subject to copyright.
Chinese PM Wen Jiabao has demanded Japan ‘swiftly and unconditionally’ release the trawler’s detained captain.
Japan seized a Chinese trawler, and has held its Chinese captain and 14 crews in detention since September 7, after the boat collided with two Japanese coast guard vessels in waters off the disputed Islands, despite strong protests from China.
Chinese PM Wen Jiabao has demanded Japan swiftly and unconditionally release the trawler’s captain. But, Japan isn’t impressed.
The Diaoyu Islands have been Chinese territory since the early years of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Maps printed in Japan in 1783 and 1785 that marked out the boundary of the Ryukyu Kingdom show that the Diaoyu Islands belonged to China.
Jiang also said China has complete sovereignty and jurisdictional rights over the Chunxiao oil and gas field 450 kilometers southeast of Shanghai, adding that Chinese activities in the area are “reasonable and lawful.”
“Japan has extended the detention of the trawler’s captain to Sept. 29,” the report said.
Could this situation escalate, or would Japan blink?
The dispute arises from the two countries territorial claims over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands in Chinese), a group of uninhabited islands situated northeast of Taiwan and west of Okinawa. The Japanese government says the islands are a part of Okinawa prefecture. The Chinese say the islands have been part of China’s territory since ancient times.
NOTES:
- Clearly, China doesn’t really believe in its own sovereignty claims over the islands; otherwise, why pussyfoot about for so long?
- Japan’s deranged policymakers continue to remain in their delusional prewar imperial stupor.
Fire Earth 