Japan might station government workers on disputed islands in the East China Sea to defend its sovereignty, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said yesterda, raising the possibility of action that would inevitably anger China.
Relations between Asia’s second and third-biggest economies have been strained over the uninhabited Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), which Japan controls but are also claimed by Taiwan and China claim. The islands are called the Senkakus in Japan.
A year ago today, the Japanese government bought three of the isles from a private owner, inflaming anger in China where big anti-Japan protests ensued.
Aircraft and ships from China and Japan have played cat-and mouse in the vicinity of the islands ever since, raising fears that an accidental encounter could spark conflict.
The already-high tensions rose further yesterday when seven Chinese ships were spotted in waters around the islands.
The China Coast Guard flotilla is the biggest seen in waters around the island chain since eight government ships were tracked there in April, a Japan Coast Guard spokesman said.
Xinhua news agency, citing the Chinese State Oceanic Administration, said it was the 59th “patrol” of the area since September last year.
Xinhua said China’s vessels had gone as close to the islands as 0.28 nautical miles (0.51km) during the past 12 months, but did not specify when.
Japan’s coastguard said the vessels had entered Japanese territorial waters at about 10:30am.
Suga said it was “extremely regrettable” that Chinese government ships had repeatedly entered what he descried as Japan’s territorial waters.
The government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was making “resolute, but calm responses to defend our territory, territorial waters and airspace decisively,” he said. “Our country will never make a concession on the matter of sovereignty.”
Asked if Japan might station government workers on the islands, Suga said: “That is one option.”
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
‘HARD-HEADED’: Some people did not evacuate to protect their property or because they were skeptical of the warnings, a disaster agency official said Typhoon Man-yi yesterday slammed into the Philippines’ most populous island, with the national weather service warning of flooding, landslides and huge waves as the storm sweeps across the archipelago nation. Man-yi was still packing maximum sustained winds of 185kph after making its first landfall late on Saturday on lightly populated Catanduanes island. More than 1.2 million people fled their homes ahead of Man-yi as the weather forecaster warned of a “life-threatening” effect from the powerful storm, which follows an unusual streak of violent weather. Man-yi uprooted trees, brought down power lines and smashed flimsy houses to pieces after hitting Catanduanes in the typhoon-prone
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un renewed his call for a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program to counter US-led threats in comments reported yesterday that were his first direct criticism toward Washington since US president-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory on Oct. 6. At a conference with army officials on Friday, Kim condemned the US for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea and solidifying three-way military cooperation involving Japan, which he portrayed as an “Asian NATO” that was escalating tensions and instability in the region. Kim also criticized the US over its support of Ukraine against a prolonged Russian invasion.
RSS