Obama Sowing Seeds of Another Major Conflict

GLOBAL CONFLICTS FOR NATURAL RESOURCES & ‘STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE’
NIGHTMARE SCENARIO 04
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Obama Gives Abe a Long Enough Rope to Hang the Japanese

The U.S. President, referred to by the moderators as 5-o, who is on a four-nation Asia tour, has reaffirmed his support for Japan in its row with China over Diaoyu Islands [called the Senkaku islands by Abe’s Japan.]

By expressing his support for the right wing, Yasakuni-ite government of Japan, 5-o has stoked the fire of a deep-rooted antagonism between the two Asian rivals, ensuring inevitability of a major conflict, possibly a war, in the region, while at the same time preaching against escalation in the dispute.

[NOTE: Russia’s Foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has asserted, “the Americans are running the show (in Ukraine) in a very close way.”]

“Article five [of the US-Japan security treaty] covers all territories under Japan’s administration including Senkaku islands,” said Obama. “We do not believe that they should be subject to change unilaterally.”

A protester wearing an Obama mask attends an anti-war demonstration against Obama’s visit to Japan.  Obama arrived in Tokyo, Japan on a four-country tour of the Asia-Pacific region on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Yan Liang)

Meanwhile, Chinese officials have reasserted Japan’s occupation of the islands as “illegal and invalid.”

“No one can shake our determination to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime interests,” said China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman.

Japan occupied the Diaoyu Islands during the Sino-Japanese War in 1895.

No matter who ultimately wins the dispute over the tiny islands, Japanese public are guaranteed to be the losers.

Related Links

• Japan to Spend $232.4 Billion on Weapons December 17, 2013

FIRE-EARTH Supports China’s Claim to Diaoyu Islands

China’s Claim to Diaoyu Islands 100 percent valid

FIRE-EARTH moderators believe China has historical and therefore legal rights, as well as the moral obligation to reclaim the Diaoyu Islands.

The Diaoyu Islands (Chinese: 钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿, or 钓鱼岛) in Mainland China, also known as the Senkaku Islands (尖閣諸島), or Tiaoyutai Islands (Chinese: 釣魚台列嶼) in Taiwan or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea due east of Mainland China, northeast of Taiwan, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern tail of the Ryukyu Islands.

Records of the islands date back to early 15th century. The Japanese government annexed the islands on 14 January 1895, naming them Senkaku.

The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender

On July 26, 1945 the United States, Britain and China released the Potsdam Declaration announcing the terms for Japan’s surrender, with the warning, “We will not deviate from them. There are no alternatives. We shall brook no delay.” The terms of the declaration specified, among others

• “Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and such minor islands as we determine.”

• “We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction.”

FIRE-EARTH rejects Japan’s manufactured history of the islands.

Japan’s continued illegitimate claims to the island, and the threat of using military force is nothing short of an act of war.

Japan Defies China Ultimatum!

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:

1. Clearly, China doesn’t really believe in its own sovereignty claims over the islands; otherwise, why  pussyfoot about for so long?
   
2. Japan’s deranged policymakers continue to remain in their delusional prewar imperial stupor.