Important UPDATE added on August 10 !
Last Friday, Japan’s defence minister warned Tokyo could send troops to a chain of East China Sea islands at the center of a territorial row with China if the simmering dispute escalated. [Source: JapanToday, July 28, 2012]
On 1st August, 2012, People's Network, Beijing, published an article that can be seen as a semi-official reaction upon Japan's recent defence policy:
日本新《防卫白皮书》再提“中国威胁”
Japan's new "White Book of Defence" is, once again, referring to "China as a threat".
日本政府7月31日出台2012年度《防卫白皮书》。白皮书妄称中国的动向是地区的担忧事项，强调实现日美“机动防卫合作”；同时再次主张日俄、日韩争议岛屿拥有主权。
On July 31, the Japanese government released its 2012 "White Book of Defence". The White Book preposterously [or: presumptuously] called China tending to be a regional subject of worry, underlining [the necessity] to bring about a "flexible defence cooperation" between Japan and the U.S.A.. At the same time maintaining, once again, sovereign owner rights of such islands disputed between Japan and Russia as well as between Japan and South Korea.
That article is showing the difficulty of tracing national boundaries in the South Pacific. One main regional problem, concerning the South China Sea and that is under entire control of China's navy, has been discussed earlier in this blog. Even between allied nations like China and North Korea maritime borders and fishing grounds are being disputed.
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UPDATE on August 10, 2012:
People's Network, Beijing, reported an unusual trip of South Korea's president Lee to "Solitary Island" (Dokdo) today, August 10.
That small Pacific island which the Japanese have named "Bamboo Island" (Takeshima) is being disputed for long between South Korea and Japan. South Korea earlier annected that tiny island and stationed a small coastguard unit there. Because of its fishing grounds and possible offshore-oil deposits, Solitary Island has recently become the focus of public attention.
日媒：李明博访问独岛或为抵消丑闻之举
Japanese media: Lee Myung-bak's visit to Solitary Island is probably an act to counteract a scandal.
... Lee Myung-bak's "forced landing" on that island must extremely worsen the Japanese-Korean relations. This morning, Japan's foreign minister Koichiro Gemba held a speech in parliament where he told the media that South Korea's action and Japan's position are in conflict with each other. South Korea is strongly demanded to stop their action which needs to receive a determined answer. ...
According to BBC, London, Lee's visit to the disputed island comes shortly before South Korea marks the anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial rule.
Lee Myung-bak
Visitor access points to "blueprint news" from Taiwan and the Philippines covering the last 14 days. Disputed islands are specially marked !
Visitor access points to "blueprint news" from Manila, Philippines,
covering the last 14 days.
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