China Sent Six Marine Ships to Monitor Japanese Activities on Tiny Islands of Controversy

(Six Chinese ships enter Japanese waters near disputed islands by Washington Post)

Last Friday, six Chinese marine surveillance ships approached Japan's sea area close to a group of islands, named Diaoyu by China, and Senkaku by Japan. The disagreement upon the ownership of those islands is getting intense, creating a hostile tension between those two major traders of Asia's largest economies. The Japanese central government claimed to have bought the islands, but China counter-argued that those are their territory. The islands appeal to both countries due to being a 'symbol of national pride', and having natural resources and fishing stock in the sea surrounding them. Even though the ships are told to depart by Japan's security on coastal line, China refused to do so, and claimed that it is their right for the "law enforcement and patrol activities." About half of the ships left the Japanese waters immediately, and then, the rest went back a couple of hours later after saying that they were within the property of China. On the next day, hundreds of Chinese people went on a riot in front of the Japanese Embassy, located in Beijing. This ongoing conflicts greatly affect the economical and cultural relationships between China and Japan. It is also a difficult situation for the United States to stand on a side. Although Japan has been an alliance  of the U.S., it is continuously stated by the U.S. officials that they won't take part in "territorial disputes." Instead, the U.S. State Department encouraged those two nations to negotiate.


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