.[11] China and Taiwan both dispute the Japanese claim by citing Yamagata Aritomo's reasons and decisions to turn down the request to incorporate the islands in 1885.[13] Both PRC and ROC asserted sovereignty over the islands.[14] Japan points out that the islands were placed under the administration of the United States of America as part of the Nansei Shoto Islands, in accordance with Article III of the said treaty and China expressed no objection to the status of the Islands being under the administration of the United States under Article III of the San Francisco Peace Treaty. In 1972, the United States ended its occupation of Okinawa and the Ryukyu Island chain, which included the Senkaku Islands.[15] Chinese (PRC) and Taiwanese (ROC) positions A 1785 Japanese map, the Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu (三国通覧図説) by Hayashi Shihei adopted the Chinese kanji (釣魚臺 Diaoyutai) to annotate the Senkaku Islands, which were painted in the same color as China.[11][16] The primary text itself can be found here.[17] Although Chinese authorities did not assert claims to the islands while they were under US administration, formal claims were announced in 1971 when the US was preparing to end its adminsitration.[18] While Japan argues that a 1968 survey finding possible oil reserves in the area explains the emergence of Chinese claims,[19] the Chinese argue that the sovereignty dispute is a legacy of Japanese imperialism and China's failure to secure the territory's prompt return following Japan's military defeat in 1945 was due to the complexities of the Chinese Civil War. The two civil war combatants, the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang (KMT), formed the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) respectively, and the communists eventually forced the ROC off the mainland to Taiwan in 1949. Both the PRC and ROC currently claim sovereignty based on arguments that include the following points: 1. Discovery and early recording in maps and travelogues[20] 2. The islands were China's frontier off-shore defence against wokou (Japanese pirates) during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1911). A Chinese map of Asia, as well as a map compiled by a Japanese cartographer[21] in the 18th century,[20] shows the islands as a part of China.[20][22] 3. Japan took control of the islands during the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894–1895, to whom they were formally ceded by the Treaty of Shimonoseki. A letter of the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1885, warning against annexing the islands due to anxiety about China's response, shows that Japan knew the islands were not terra nullius.[13][20][22] 4. The Potsdam Declaration stated that "Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū, Shikoku and such minor islands as we determine", and "we" referred to the victors of the Second World War who met at Potsdam, the USA, the UK and the Republic of China. Japan accepted the terms of the Declaration when it surrendered.[22][23][24] 5. China formally protested the 1971 US transfer of control to Japan[25] According to Chinese claims,[20] the islands, known to China at least since 1372,[26] had been repeatedly referred to as part of Chinese territory since 1534,[26] and later controlled by the Qing Dynasty along with Taiwan.[20] The earliest written record of Diaoyutai dates back to 1403 in a Chinese book Voyage with the Tail Wind (zh:順風相送),[27] which recorded the names of the islands that voyagers had passed on a trip from Fujian to the Ryukyu Kingdom.[11] By 1534, all the major islets of the island group were identified and named in the book Record of the Imperial Envoy's Visit to Ryukyu (使琉球錄).[22] and were the Ming Dynasty's (16th-century) sea-defense frontier.[22][26] One of the islands, Chihweiyu, marked the boundary of the Ryukyu Islands. This is viewed by the PRC and ROC as meaning that these islands did not belong to the Ryukyu Islands.[26] The Japanese government argues that the islands were not ceded by this treaty but the claim is disputed by Chinese governments, quoting the documents of Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1884. In that year, the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs objected to the annexation of those islands by stating that those islands were "near to the Qing's (China's) border", "had Chinese names", and Japanese activity "in the offshore's coast of Qing Dynasty had already raised the attention of Chinese newspapers and were warned by China". Following this advice, the Japanese interior minister, Yamagata Aritomo, turned down the request for incorporating those islands into Japanese territory. The Chinese governments see it as evidence to disprove the Japanese claim that those islands were terra nullius when they decided to incorporate them in 1895.[13][20][22] The Japanese government kept postponing the issue and it was only in 1895, when Japan's victory in the Sino-Japanese War was manifested, that the application was finally accepted in a Cabinet meeting.[26] They also claim that the Japanese reference to these islands did not appear in Japanese government documents before 1884.[26] The PRC and ROC governments claim that during negotiations with China over the Ryukyu Islands after the First Sino-Japanese War, the islands were not mentioned at all in a partition plan suggested by US ex-President Grant.[26] The lease of the islands in 1896 and subsequent purchase in 1930 by the Koga family were merely domestic arrangements made by the Japanese government which had no bearing on the legal status of the islands."[26] According to PRC, Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek failed to protest American decisions with regard to the disposition of the islands because he depended on the US for support.[6] In April 2012, Taiwan declined an invitation from the PRC to work together to resolve the territorial dispute with Japan. Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Lai Shin-yuan said, "The ROC and Mainland China will not deal with the [Tiaoyutai Islands] disputes together. Mainland China said the two sides should solve these issues together, but that is not the approach we are taking because [Taiwan and Mainland China] already have sovereignty disputes. We insist on our sovereignty."[29] Regarding Japan's argument about the 1958 People's Daily, Jin Canrong, a professor at Renmin University of China thinks that the article, which is anonymous, implys that Ryukyu Islands should be a sovereign state, also independent from Japan.[30] Other Chinese commentators, including a government research institution run by a retired People's Armed Police general,[31] extend the Chinese claim to the entire Ryukyu chain, including Okinawa.[32] Japanese position The Japanese stance is that there is no territorial issue that needs to be resolved.[33] It has stated the following points as claim for the islands and counter-argument against China's claim. 1. The islands had been uninhabited and showed no trace of having been under the control of China prior to 1895.[34] 2. The islands were neither part of Taiwan nor part of the Pescadores Islands, which were ceded to Japan by the Qing Dynasty of China in Article II of the May 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki,[34] thus were not later renounced by Japan under Article II of the San Francisco Peace Treaty.[35] 3. Though the islands were controlled by the United States as an occupying power between 1945 and 1972, Japan has since 1972 exercised administration over the islands. 4. Japanese allege that Taiwan and China only started claiming ownership of the islands in 1971, following a May 1969 United Nations report that a large oil and gas reserve may exist under the seabed near the islands.[36][37][38] After the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government surveyed the islands in 1885, which found that the islands were terra nullius and that there was no evidence to suggest that they had ever been under Chinese control.[36] At the time of this survey, however, Yamagata Aritomo, the minister of interior of the Meji government, took a cautious approach and put off the request to incorporate the islands. Japan erected a marker on Kubajima and Uotsurijima to incorporate the islands as its territory,[39][not in citation given] a decision it publicized in 1950.[40] Four of the islands were subsequently developed by Koga Tatsushirō (古賀 辰四郎) and his family, with the permission of the Japanese government.[41][unreliable source?] Japan claims that neither China nor Ryukyu had recognized sovereignty over the uninhabited islands. Therefore, they claim that Chinese documents only prove that Kumejima, the first inhabited island reached by the Chinese, belonged to Okinawa. Kentaro Serita (芹田 健太郎) of Kobe University points out that the official history book of the Ming Dynasty compiled during the Qing Dynasty, called the History of Ming (明史), describes Taiwan in its "Biographies of Foreign Countries" (外国列传) section. Thus, China did not control the Senkaku Islands or Taiwan during the Ming Dynasty.[42][unreliable source?] A letter from the Republic of China (中華民國) consul to Nagasaki written on 20 May 1921. After a number of Chinese were rescued from a shipwreck in 1920, an official letter authored by the Chinese Consul Feng Mien (冯冕/馮冕) in Nagasaki on behalf of the Republic of China (中華民國) on 20 May 1921, made reference to "Senkaku Islands, Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture, the Empire of Japan". The letter is on exhibition at Yaeyama museum.[43] An article published by the Renmin Ribao on January 8, 1953. The People's Daily, a daily newspaper, which is the organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), referred to the Senkaku Islands by the Japanese name "Senkaku Shotō" and described the islands were a part of (then) U.S.-occupied Ryukyu Islands. The article published on January 8, 1953 titled "Battle of people in the Ryukyu Islands against the U.S. occupation"[44] wrote "The Ryukyu Islands lie scattered on the sea between the Northeast of Taiwan of China and the Southwest of Kyushu, Japan. They consist of 7 groups of islands; the Senkaku Islands, the Sakishima Islands, the Daito Islands, the Okinawa Islands, the Oshima Islands, the Tokara Islands and the Osumi Islands."[45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] A Chinese diplomatic draft written by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC on May 15, 1950 referred to the Senkaku Islands by the Japanese name "Senkaku shotō" and "Sentō Shosho" and indicated Chinese recognition of the islands as part of the Ryukyu Islands. The 10-page documentp. 1p. 4p. 5p. 6 (archived at p. 1p. 4p. 5p. 6) titled "Draft outline on issues and arguments on parts concerning territories in the peace treaty with Japan"[53] says the Ryukyus "consist of three parts--northern, central, and southern. The central part comprises the Okinawa Islands, whereas the southern part comprises the Miyako Islands and the Yaeyama Islands (Sentō Shosho)."[54] The parentheses appear in the original. It also says "It should be studied whether the Senkaku Islands should be incorporated into Taiwan due to an extremely close distance."[55] suggesting the Chinese government did not consider the islands part of Taiwan. The passages leave no doubt that Beijing regarded the Senkaku Islands as part of the Ryukyu Islands as of 1950. [56][57] From 1895 to 1940, there was a Katsuobushi factory and about 200 Japanese residents on the islands.[58] In 1978, a Japanese nationalist group, Nihonseinensha built a lighthouse on Uotsuri Jima, which was subsequently handed over to the Japanese government in 2005.[59][60] During a private visit 9 years after stepping down from office, former President of Republic of China, Lee Teng-hui, once said that the islands are part of Okinawa.[61] There are many official maps published by both Chinas after 1945 that support they did not recognize their sovereignty over the islands and they recognized the islands as Japanese territory. The Washington Times states that this is a classified PRC government map from 1969 and that it lists the "Senkaku islands" as Japanese territory.[62] * The Washington Times stated that they obtained a classified map made by the PRC's map authority in 1969 apparently listing the "Senkaku Islands" as Japanese territory.[62] * From 1946 to 1971, Taiwan Statistical Abstract published by the Taiwanese Provincial Government stated "the easternmost point of Taiwan is Mianhua Islet and the northernmost point is Pengjia Islet" excluding the Senkaku islands. In 1972, immediately after the Executive Yuan of the ROC announced that the islands belonged to Yilan County of Taiwan Province in December 1971, the description was revised and the points were extended to the Senkaku Islands: "the easternmost point of Taiwan is Taishō-jima and the northernmost point is Kuba-jima."[63] * The Grand Atlas of the World Vol. 1 published in October 1965 by the National Defense Research Academy and the China Geological Research Institute of Taiwan records the Diaoyu Islands with Japanese names: Gyochojima (Diaoyu Islands), Taishojima (Chiwei Island), and Senkaku Gunto in the "Map of the Ryukyu Islands". Taiwan and the Senkaku Gunto were clearly divided by a national border. The revised version in the early 1970s, "Senkaku Gunto" was changed to the "Tiaoyutai Islets". Furthermore, the national border was relocated to an area between the Daioyutai Islands and the Ryukyu Islands. However, in the English index, the name“Senkaku Gunto” remained unrevised.[63][64][65] * The National Atlas of China Vol. 1 published by the National War College of Taiwan did not include Diaoyutai Islands in the map of "Taipei and Keelung" in the first (1959), second (1963), or even third (1967) editions. However the fourth edition (1972) included an extra map of the "Taio Yu Tai Islets" as part of the ROC’s territory in the upper left corner of the map of "Taipei and Keelung".[63] Partial image of map showing Senkaku Islands in World Atlas published in China in 1960 * A world atlas published in November 1958, by the Map Publishing Company of Beijing, treats the Senkaku Islands as a Japanese territory and described them in Japanese name Senkaku Guntō (Senkaku Islands) and Uotsuri-Jima,[66][67] * In the 1970 junior high school geography textbook published by the National Institute for Compilation and Translation of Taiwan, the Diaoyutai Islands were named Senkaku Gunto in the "Physical Map of the Ryukyu Islands". Senkaku Gunto and the Ryukyu Islands were clearly not included in the ROC's territory by national border. However, in the 1971 edition, Senkaku Gunto was renamed Diaoyutai Islands, and the ROC national border was redrawn so that the Diaoyutai Islands were included.[63][68] United States' position On December 25, 1953, U.S. Civil Administration of the Ryukyus Proclamation 27 (USCAR 27) set geographical boundaries of the Ryukyu Islands that included the Senkaku Islands. Moreover, during U.S. administration of the islands, the U.S. Navy built firing ranges on them and paid annual rent of $11,000 to Jinji Koga, son of the first Japanese settler of the islands.[69] During the San Francisco Peace Treaty discussions, John Foster Dulles, chief U.S. delegate to the peace conference, set forth the concept that Japan had "residual sovereignty" over the Ryukyu Islands. According to an official analysis prepared by the U.S. Army, "residual Sovereignty" meant that "the United States will not transfer its sovereign powers over the Ryukyu Islands to any nation other than Japan." In June 1957, President Eisenhower confirmed this at the U.S.-Japan summit meeting, telling Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi that "residual sovereignty" over the Ryukyus meant that "the United States would exercise its rights for a period and that the sovereignty would then return to Japan." In March 1962, President Kennedy stated in an Executive Order for the Ryukyus that "I recognize the Ryukyus to be a part of the Japanese homeland and look forward to the day when the security interests of the Free World will permit their restoration to full Japanese sovereignty." Since there was no U.S. action to separate the Senkaku Islands from the Ryukyu, these applications of “residual sovereignty” appeared to include the Senkaku Islands.[69] In May 1971, A report compiled by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said "The Japanese claim to sovereignty over the Senkakus is strong, and the burden of proof of ownership would seem to fall on the Chinese". The CIA also said in related documents that any dispute between Japan, China and Taiwan over the islands would not have arisen, had it not been for the discovery around 1968 of potential oil reserves on the nearby continental shelf.[70] On June 7, 1971, President Richard Nixon confirmed Japan's "residual sovereignty" over the Senkaku Islands just before a deal to return Okinawa Prefecture to Japan in a conversation with his national security adviser Henry Kissinger. Kissinger also told Nixon that "these (Senkaku) islands stayed with Okinawa" when Japan returned Taiwan to China after the end of World War II in 1945.[71] The Nixon Administration removed the Senkakus from its inclusion in the concept of Japanese "residual sovereignty" in presenting the Okinawa Reversion Treaty to the U.S. Senate for ratification. On October 20, 1971, Secretary of State William Rogers sent a letter to U.S Congress. In his letter, Acting Assistant Legal Adviser Robert Starr stated "The United States believes that a return of administrative rights over those islands to Japan, from which the rights were received, can in no way prejudice any underlying claims. The United States cannot add to the legal rights Japan possessed before it transferred administration of the islands to us, nor can the United States, by giving back what it received, diminish the rights of other claimants... The United States has made no claim to the Senkaku Islands and considers that any conflicting claims to the islands are a matter for resolution by the parties concerned."[72] Several experts have attributed this Nixon Administration policy shift as having been influenced by White House overtures to China during 1971-1972, culminating in the Nixon visit to China.[69] The United States Department of State has stated that it does not take an official position on who owns the islands. Top US government officials, however, have declared in 2004, 2010, and September 2012, that as Japan maintains effective administrative control on the islands, the islands fall under the 1960 Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan which requires the US to assist Japan in defending the islands if anyone, including China, attacks or attempts to occupy or control them.[73] On November 29, U.S. Senate unanimously approved an amendment to National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 stating the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands fall under the scope of a Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan and Washington would defend Japan in the event of armed attacks.[74][75] Alternative approaches When PRC-Japan diplomatic relations were established in 1972, both nations found reasons to set aside this territorial dispute.[76] According to negotiator Deng Xiaoping, "It does not matter if this question is shelved for some time, say, 10 years. Our generation is not wise enough to find common language on this question. Our next generation will certainly be wiser. They will certainly find a solution acceptable to all."[77] In 1969, the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) identified potential oil and gas reserves in the vicinity of the Senkaku Islands.[37] During subsequent decades, several rounds of bilateral talks considered joint-development of sub-seabed resources in disputed territorial waters. Such efforts to develop a cooperative strategy were unsuccessful.[78] In 2008, a preliminary agreement on joint development of resources was reached but the agreement only includes the area far from these islands.[79] Disputes about the causes There are disputes about the causes of controversy involving the Senkaku Islands.[80] For example, some use the term "territorial dispute"; however, the Japanese government has consistently rejected this framing since the early 1970s.[81] An analysis of incidents and issues require distinguishing between disputes which are primarily over territory and those which merely have a territorial component.[82] The real importance of the islands lies in the ... implications for the wider context of the two countries’ approaches to maritime and island disputes, as well as in the way in which those issues can be used by domestic political groups to further their own objectives.] — Zhongqi Pan.[83][84][better source needed] Other nations are closely monitoring developments,[85] e.g., * Senkakus described as a proxy. According to China Daily, the Senkaku Islands are a disruptive mine planted by the United States into Sino-Japanese relations.[86] * Senkakus characterized as a pretext. According to the New York Times, some analysts frame all discussion about the islands' status within a broader pattern of Chinese territorial assertions.[87] * Senkakus identified as a tactic. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the Senkakus may represent a tactical distraction from China's internal power struggle over who will replace the current leadership of the Communist Party in 2012.[88] The historical record is a backdrop for each new incident in the unfolding chronology of these islands.[89] Historical development * 1532: On the 8th of the 5th month (lunar calendar), Chen Kan, leading the envoy on behalf of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China to Ryukyu, recorded the islands as landmarks en route.[90] * 1561: Ming envoy Kuo Ju-lin, following Chen Kan, set sail from Fuzhou on the 29th of the 5th month and recorded passing the islands as landmarks.[90] * 1785: A Japanese map by Hayashi Shihei indicated the islands in the same color of that of China, and different from that of Ryukyu.[11] * 1909: Japanese population of the islands became 248.[58][91] * December 1971: The People's Republic of China (PRC) first officially claimed (via People's Daily) sovereignty when Japan made known its official standpoint with the signing of the Okinawa Reversion Treaty.[26] * 23 April 2004: a member of a Japanese right-wing group rammed a bus into the Chinese consulate in Osaka, to protest Chinese claims.[37] * July 2004: Japan started exploring for natural gas in what it considers its own exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea as a step to counter China's building of a natural gas complex nearby. Japan plans to survey a 30-kilometer-wide band stretching between latitudes 28 and 30 degrees North, just inside the border demarcated by Japan. China disputes Japan's rights to explore the area east of the median line between the two countries, which Japan has proposed as the demarcation line for their exclusive economic zones.[37] * July 2004: a group of Chinese held a demonstration outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing afternoon to protest Japan's "illegal" oil exploration activities in a disputed area of the East China Sea. The protesters, organized by Beijing-based organization called the Patriots Alliance Network.[37] * 17 March 2006: Kyodo News reported the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Thomas Schieffer, presented that he considered "the Islands as territory of Japan" in his talk in Tokyo.[92] * 27 October 2006: A group of activists from the Hong Kong-based Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands approached the islands to show the support for Chinese claims to the Diaoyu Islands. They were stopped from landing on the islands by the Japan Coast Guard.[93] Later on, the PLAN conducted a military exercise in the area.[94] 2008 * June: o On 10 June 2008, the 270 ton sport fishing vessel Lien Ho (聯合號) of Taiwan suffered a collision with the Japanese patrol vessel Koshiki. The vessel sank while in the disputed territorial waters that have been claimed by Japan and Taiwan (ROC).[95] The Taiwanese crew who were aboard the vessel claims that the larger Japanese frigate deliberately crashed into them; Japanese coast guard initially claimed that the Taiwanese boat had crashed into the patrol ship.[96] While releasing the passengers, Japan initially detained the captain and sought reparations.[97][98] o On 13 June, the captain was released.[99] o On 16 June, a boat carrying activists from Taiwan, defended by five Republic of China Coast Guard vessels, approached to within 0.4 nautical miles (740 m) of the main island, from which position they circumnavigated the island in an assertion of sovereignty of the islands. This demonstration prompted Taiwanese politicians to cancel a planned trip on-board Republic of China Navy vessels to demonstrate sovereignty.[100] The Taiwanese vessels were followed by Japanese Coast Guard vessels, but no attempt was made to intercept them. o On 20 June, upon releasing the video taken by people on board the Taiwanese boat, Japan apologized for the incident[101] and agreed to pay NT$10 million (US$311,000) as compensation to the owner of the boat.[102] Liu Chao-shiuan, Premier of the Republic of China, has refused to rule out the use of force to defend the islands against Japanese advances.[103] The ROC government recalled its chief representative to Japan in protest.[104] On 20 June, the de facto Japanese ambassador to Taiwan apologized, in person, to the captain of the Taiwanese boat Lien Ho.[105] 2010 * September: o On 7 September 2010, a Chinese fishing trawler collided with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats in disputed waters near the islands. The collisions occurred after the Japanese Coast Guard ordered the trawler to leave the area. After the collisions, Japanese sailors boarded the Chinese vessel and arrested the captain Zhan Qixiong.[106] o On 18 September, the 79th anniversary of the Mukden Incident, widespread anti-Japanese protests were held in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Shenyang.[107] o On 22 September, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao threatened further action if the captain of the Chinese fishing trawler was not released.[108] o On 24 September, Japan released the Chinese captain, and stated that keeping the captain in custody would not be appropriate and it would raise considerable impact on Sino-Japanese relations.[109] o On 25 September, China demanded an apology and compensation from Japan for holding the Chinese boat captain in the collision incident. Japan rejected the Chinese demand.[33] o On 27 September, Japan said that it would counter-claim against China for damage to their patrol boats in the collision.[110] * October: o On 2 October, large scale anti-Chinese protests occurred in Tokyo and six other cities in Japan.[111][112] o On 3 October, a group of right wing Japanese protesters marched to the Ikebukuro mall specializing in Chinese food demanding that the islands be defended against the Chinese.[113] o On 6 October, a joint USA/Japan drill is planned, based on the defense of Okinawa in December,[114][115] though Japanese Prime Minister Kan Naoto told parliament that the joint military exercise was not planned specifically with the islands in mind.[116] o On 14 October, Japan's Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, along with other members of the LDP party filed a complaint against Google Maps demanding the removal of the Chinese name "Diaoyutai" from the interactive map services. Google refused, stating that they wish to remain neutral.[117] 2011 * June – On 29 June 2011, a fishing boat from Taiwan, named "Tafa 268", with some activists aboard, navigated to waters some 23 nautical miles off the disputed Diaoyutai/Senkaku Islands in the morning. The Japanese coast guard immediately mobilized four patrol vessels to block the “Tafa 268”, and a Japanese helicopter was also dispatched to monitor the Taiwanese boat. The Coast Guard Agency (CGA) Keelung office of Taiwan sent five patrol vessels there and managed to break the Japanese blockade to sail close to the Taiwanese fishing boat. Both sides of coast guard vessels reiterated the disputed islands were their own territory but no collision happened, and "Tafa 268" set off for home escorted by the CGA vessels after a 25-minute standoff.[118][119] * July: On 3~4 July, nine Japanese fishing boats, including one owned by a senior official of a Japanese nationalist group, were fishing near the islands. Beijing lodged a stern remonstration with Tokyo on 4 July 2011, over such Japanese fishing activities. Chinese Foreign Ministry demands that Japanese fishing vessels be immediately withdrawn.[120][121][122] On the morning of 3 July, the Japan Coast Guard found that Chinese fishery patrol vessel “Fishery 201″ in waters near the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. Japanese patrol vessels issued a warning “Do not enter Japanese territorial waters “. China “Fishery 201″ then responded it was conducting legitimate task in that the waters around the Diaoyu Islands under the jurisdiction of China.[123] Also on 4 July, two Chinese military aircraft approached the disputed islands. When the planes came within 37 miles of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) immediately scrambled an F-15 to intercept them.[124] * November: o Apparently influenced by the dispute with China over the Senkakus, Japan vocally supported the United States at the November 2011 East Asia Summit in declaring that the South China Sea, much of which China claims, is under the jurisdiction of international maritime law and any disputes over the area must be resolved through multi-national cooperation and dialogue. China, in contrast, declared that any disputes over possession of the South China Sea should be resolved bilaterally, not through multi-nationational forums or talks.[125] o In advance of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's planned December 2011 state visit to the PRC, the PRC government requested that the two countries begin negotiations over national boundaries in the East China Sea. According to Kyodo News, the proposal by China appeared to be an effort to get Japan to acknowledge that a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands existed.[126] 2012 Taiwan and Japan Coast Guard vessels during a confrontation on 4 July 2012. * January: o On 1 January, four members of the Ishigaki municipal assembly visited Uotsuri Island. Ishigaki's mayor, however, stated that the four may have acted without proper authority and people wishing to visit the island should first obtain permission from the Japanese central government.[127] In response, a group of Chinese activists from Hong Kong attempted to sail to the islands to protest the Japanese actions, but were blocked by Hong Kong-based coast guard authorities and forced to return to port.[128][129] o On 16 January, Japan announced that it would name 39 previously unnamed, uninhabited islets that it claims in the East China Sea, including four in the Senkaku Island chain. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin stated: "Our stance is very clear on the issue of the Diaoyu Islands. China has indisputable sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands that have been an inherent part of China since ancient times."[130][better source needed] Japan completed naming all the islands by 3 March 2012, including Hokusei Kojima and three other islets near the Senkakus.[131] In response, China gave its own names to the previously unnamed islets and PRC foreign minister Yang Jiechi urged Japan to "'fully recognise' the complexity and sensitivity of issues concerning history and the Diaoyu Islands" and "'properly handle these sensitive issues' based on the overall interests of the China-Japan relationship."[132][133][better source needed] Taiwan responded by disagreeing with both the PRC's and Japan's naming of the islands, with foreign minister Timothy Yang stating that Taiwan would handle the matter according to its own national interests.[134] o On 21 January, Diet lawmakers Koichi Mukoyama and Yoshitaka Shindō surveyed the islands by ship and later stated that the islands, several of which are still private property of Japanese citizens, needed to be fully nationalized. Their visit was the first by national politicians since 1997.[135] * March: On 16 March, the PRC sent maritime patrol boats Haijian 50 and Haijian 66 to patrol near the Senkaku Islands, with foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin announcing that the move was to help safeguard the PRC's territory and that the islands were part of PRC's territory. The crew of a nearby Japanese coast guard vessel stated that the Haijian 50 entered Japanese territorial waters for 25 minutes and warned the ship to leave. A Japanese government spokesman later stated that the ship had not actually entered Japanese waters, but the Japanese government lodged an official protest with the Chinese ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua.[136][137] According to the People's Daily 21 March 2012, an unnamed official of the State Oceanic Administration stated that the PRC intends to patrol the Diaoyu Islands in order to challenge a potential future Japanese claim to the islands based on the international 50-year standard "statute of limitations" for claiming possession of a territory.[138] * July: o On 4 July, Coastguard vessels from Taiwan and Japan collided in waters near a disputed island chain Wednesday, as the Taiwanese vessel was escorting activists to the area.[139] o On 7 July, the Japanese Prime Minister stated that these islands are an integral part of his country and the Government is considering their purchase from the Japanese owner.[140] This was also done to prevent the islands from being bought by the government of Tokyo.[141] o Three Chinese patrol vessels entered the disputed waters around these islands on 11 July 2012.[142] On 15 July 2012, Japan recalled their ambassador to China to work on the response to the transgression.[143] In late July, Japanese officials have raised alarms regarding increased Chinese military expansion.[144] o The events would eventually escalate and lead up to widespread protests in China. * August o On 8 August, after a meeting between the Japanese Defense Minister and the American Defense Secretary, it was announced that UAVs would be used to conduct surveillance around Okinawa, which will include the Senkaku Islands.[145][146] o On 15 August, ships carrying activists from Hong Kong approached the islands, but were stopped by the Japan Coast Guard. Seven activists jumped from the ships to swim ashore, five of whom reached the island; the other two turned back to the ships. The activists and their ship were detained by Japanese authorities.[147] The detained activists were deported two days later.[148] o On 18 August, a flotilla of four boats[149] carrying about 150 Japanese activists[150] organized by right-wing group Ganbare Nippon arrived at the islands. The activists stated that they wished to commemorate Japanese World War II deaths in the area. When the activists were denied permission to land, several of them swam to the islands.[151] Ten activists swam to the islands and made an unauthorized landing on Uotsuri, where they raised Japanese flags.[152][153] + China’s Foreign Ministry protested the event before it happened saying that unilateral action by Japan on the islands "is illegal and invalid." China also lodged a formal complaint,[vague] and urged Japan to prevent frictions from escalating more.[154] The flotilla arrival at the archipelago also set off anti-Japanese rallies in more than 25 Chinese cities,[155][156] and 100 people gathered near Japan's consulate in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou to demand that the Japanese leave the islands.[150] Chinese protestors overturned Japanese-branded cars and smashed windows of Japanese-themed businesses.[154][157] Chinese anti-Japanese protests Main article: 2012 China anti-Japanese demonstrations * o On 19 August, protests broke out in Chinese cities including Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xi'an and Jinan, as well as Hong Kong.[158] o On 26 August, the Japanese government announced it is making a ¥2.05 billion bid for the Senkaku Islands to bring them under state control around next month.[159] * September o On 11 September, China sent two patrol ships to the islands to demonstrate its claim of ownership.[160] Japan formally nationalized the three islands that were held in the ownership of Kunioki Kurihara.[161][162] Taiwan's Foreign Ministry lodged a strong protest to Japan, calling the island purchase an "extremely unfriendly move" that "not only harms the longtime cooperation between Taiwan and Japan but will also aggravate regional tensions in East Asia."[163] China Meteorological Administration begins daily weather forecast for Senkaku Islans on CCTV as well as already started for Paracel Islands, Macclesfield Bank and Spratly Islands.[164] o On 12 September, there was a small anti-Japanese protest in Taipei which included flag-burning.[165] o On 13 September, Chinese government submitted a nautical chart with baselines of the territorial sea on Senkaku Islands to the United Nations.[166][167] o Weekend of 15–16 September + Citizens in mainland China participated in protest marches and called for a boycott of Japanese products in as many as 85 Chinese cities,[168] including Shanghai, Shenyang, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou and Harbin, as well as Hong Kong[169][170][171] Demonstrations escalated to arson of Japanese vehicles and other criminal acts in Beijing,[172] Shenzhen,[172] Guangzhou,[173] Changsha,[174][175] Suzhou,[172] Mianyang,[171] Xi'an[175][176][177] and Qingdao.[172] + There were protests in Los Angeles,[178] Houston, San Francisco,[179] New York[180] and Chicago, as well as a petition to the US government and Congress to take a neutral stance over the dispute.[181] + South China Morning Post reporter Felix Wong was reportedly beaten by police in Shenzhen while covering the protests.[182] + US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters "I am concerned that when these countries engage in provocations of one kind or another over these various islands that it raises the possibility that a misjudgment on one side or the other could result in violence and could result in conflict"[183] o On 14 September 2012, six Chinese vessels approached the disputed islands, with two circling the island chain before leaving the area.[184] Later on 18 September 2012, Chinese media reported a flotilla of approximately 1,000 Chinese fishing boats heading towards the islands.[185] China increased the number of vessels patrolling within the region close to the islands on 22 September, sending a flotilla of 4 marine surveillance vessels and 9 fishery monitoring craft.[186] o On 16 September, China officially announced its plan to request natural extension of its continental shelf up to Okinawa Trough (which would extend its EEZ) from the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.[187] o On 17 September, Kōichirō Gemba said that there was a mutual understanding that the United States would defend the islands, even though the subject was not discussed with the Americans.[188] o On 18 September, people in over 180 cities of China attend protests on the 81st anniversary of the Mukden Incident.[189] o On 23 September 2012, China launched a program to increase the number of UAVs monitoring the Scarborough Shoal, Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands and East China Sea monitoring the Senkakus, which follows a national marine zoning program approved by the State Council during the previous year as a part of China's 12th five-year plan.[190] ၂၀၁၂၊ စက်တင်ဘာ၂၅တွင် ထိုင်ဝမ်ငါးဖမ်းသင်္ဘော ၇၅စီးသည် ထိုင်ဝမ်ကမ်းခြေစောင်တပ်မှအစောင့်သင်္ဘော ၁၀ စီးလိုက်ပါပြီး အငြင်းပွားကျွန်းများသို့သွားရောက်ခဲ့သည်။