The Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands

Narrative of an empty space


See article

Readers' comments



Felipe Coelho in reply to ChinaEagle


wudang wushu in reply to Oda Nobunaga

Stop your mis-information

There were many 1000s of protests against the unlawful stealing of DIAYU but the Western Media deliberately omitted to report them

DIAPOU was a Ming/Qing Dynasty Military Islet

Chinese war ships routine;y patrol these rich fishing grounds since the Ming (1300 -1600)

In the 1880s ---The Japanese Foreign Minister wrote that the Chinese newspapers were writing to report suspicions that Japan was trying to annex China's DIAOYU

'It's better for you to claim New York instead, they still have New Amsterdam in New York city.'

Yes, the Dutch used to own Manhattan before Henry Hudson sailed down the river that bears his name now. (They ripped it off of the local native Indians with a hand full of trinkets.) In fact, Wall Street real estate is largely still in the hands of the Dutch. In particular, much of the properties in the area, especially south of Wall Street, is still owned and managed by the Dutch Lutheran Church, the biggest landlord in Manhattan.

FYI, there really used to be a wall on this street to protect the European settlers against the natives.

Michael Dunne in reply to Jean Michel

Your sounding a little emotional. Should relax, have a drink and give the subject some more exploration.

Last I saw, Taiwan has its own army, political institutions and economy. Call me crazy, maybe, but that seems pretty well documented.

Happy New Years.... ;-)

Interesting tag-team match you organised.

I wonder if a secessionsit poll has been conducted. Gee, maybe I could use comments like this to place the "right" questions in people's minds, and send them off on a wild goose chase.

Just from curiosity, how would you rate the similarity between the hijacking of Hawaii and the hijacking of Palestine?

In both cases, would the "Asians" be in favor?

watchingchina in reply to Michael Dunne

Michael, your statement about "the driving force" behind the vote being the foreign element resident in Hawaii, is a flat lie.

The driving force was the US government who had annexed Hawaii decades before and was not going to set it free. The push came from the UN, whose resolutions demanded the US repair the mess they'd caused. But the UN demand was for a choice for freedom, and didn't even contemplate statehood.

Your "facts" do not contradict anything, and the only "unsubstantiated" claims appear to be your own.

Your population statistics for Hawaii, are totally irrelevant to the situation. The only people who should have had a say were the Hawaiians. And you know that.

You clearly have an agenda to sell. False facts, rewriting history, irrelevant information, confusion, obstruction, revisionism, red herrings.

These are all Hasbara tactics, common on Economist threads.


happy new year to all.

‘watchingchina’ says: 'As to the so-called "vote" for US statehood, that was 100% fraudulent.' that's true. but the us was the preeminent world power so it can do just about anything it wanted.

which brings me to another solution on diaoyu islands (and south china sea in general) that only a nation as powerful as the us can do, but better hurry, before the cliff runnth over. that is :

1. to let in japan to become the 51st or 52nd state of the the usa (depending if it beats puerto rico to it) by some vote of statehood (as japan is fully occupied as hawaii was, the so called 'vote fraudulence' is not the issue and who cares?). to mitigate border issues in the future, that state of japan is to be confined to its four main islands only. this would make usa a true west-pac asia-pacific nation in summits like apec and its entry to asia that much more grandiose.

2. the chain of ryukyus islands to be returned to their rightful owner---the ryukyus people and is to be a renewed independent nation.

even tiny east timor or timor-leste with less than $1 b GDP can be made an independent nation, why can't ryukyus people of the uch larger economy? where is the world justice and human dignity? ryukyus nation will act nicely as a buffer against china too just like mongolia did.

don't worry, ryukyus people as a whole is not against the us bases and troops there or americans. they can even stand a few jack the zippers there. it's the japanese and japanese-ness they can't stand.

3. diaoyu islands (and taiwan) should be returned to its rightful owner china. it’s right within its front yard anyway. and what a peaceful way to let china to hang its hat in the current episode----'face saving' wise.

4. as for the south china sea, why not let vietnam be a new province or SAR (special administrative region) of the Philippines? vietnam is well experienced in guerilla warfare so useful in the south philippines. and forget the past history, they are now both under the protective wings and orders of double eagle march and are so proud of it. such commonality makes sense for them to combine and bond.

the so enlarged or em-bulged philippines will immediately increase its GDP from about $200 b to $300 b (vn’s GDP was $100 b), to raise its combined weight to just a little shy of 6% of japn’s GDP ---thus a more cushy position at asean (as two separate members they recently called a summit and nobody came).

or a combined weight to about 20% GDP of india---making vietnam (now 'a part of philippines') that much harder to chew by.

then all's quiet in the west and east.

all problem solved, and we can all go home for a prosperous 2013.

kommonsenses in reply to watchingchina

that's most likely true and nice ensuing analysis in your post. but the us was the preeminent world power so it can do just about anything it wanted.

and senator bob dole is related to banana dole business like actress jean simmons was related to simmons sleeper business.

ewakorn in reply to Michael Dunne

The formal date of annexation of Ryukyu was dated 1879 because:

(1) The last king of Ryukyu, Sho Tai, repeatedly defied Emperor Meiji's order and didn't depart for Tokyo until 1979;

(2) Even after Emperor Meiji downgraded Ryukyu's kingdom status to "han" in 1872, the Ryukyu kingdom remained defiant and still sent tribute to China. The last tribute was sent out in 1874.

Only when Sho Tai departed to Tokyo in 1789 and then Japan annexed the kingdom as a "prefecture" did historians consider Japan complete control over the islands.

MySetDancer in reply to xuqian1

Correction: CHINA is the only country in the region which currently has territorial disputes with all its neighbors, has invaded most of them (failed in its attempt to invade Japan when its fleet sank in a storm) and bullies its neighbors in order to seize potentially valuable oil and gas. Be Honest! Your continual attack on Japan does not leave a good impression.


Another fallacy suggested by fellow poster is that in Okinawa and Hawaii, the people can preserve their native culture as parts of Japan and U.S. repsectively.

That is quite correct.

But the issue is how much native culture is left there for them to preserve. In both places, the native language had been banned for instruction or even dialog in schools for decades.

When 1-2 generation of people were not allowed to read, write or even speak their own languages, then how can the current generation preserve their own culture when they even cannot master their own tongue?

wudang wushu in reply to Hibro


Cunning, cunning Japs....


Trickery and a con-job by Japs

Bangladeshi Political Scientist

This is an interesting and thought-provoking article.We are now living in a multi-polar world order in which the USA is a dominant super-power.But the gradual rise of China is altering the international system.As a result,we are in now a transition period.A new kind power configuration is evident throughout the world.The conflict on the claim and counter-claim over the Snkaku or Diaoya will be inevitable due to the geo-political and strategic reasons.We want a peaceful resolution of the problem.Discussion,dialogue,negotiation and compromise would be best methods.

Michael Dunne

Interesting link that you provided to this recent Japan Times ARticle (Dated December 29th) - "China 1950 paper says Senkakus are Japan's"
Are there any reports from China, Taiwan or elsewhere confirming existance of this document?
And do they confirm this narrative to any degree:
The report runs counter to Beijing's present assertion — amid its ongoing territorial row with Tokyo — that the islets, which were effectively nationalized by Japan in mid-September, are affiliated with Taiwan and are thus an inherent part of Chinese territory."
I would be curious about how possession could influence a judgement under international law, since the Americans controlled the islands from 1945 to 1972, and Japan since?


I have created 4 profiles (JeanPierre,Wolfgang21, JuanHernandez and SimonBeaton) to post my "My way or Highway" opinions. And still make it look like neutral third party views. Smart huh !!


Latest blog posts - All times are GMT
Car technology: Turbocharged
Schumpeter 2 hrs 22 mins ago
Gun laws: Prayers and pistols
Democracy in America July 11th, 17:43
Daily chart: Justice on trial
Graphic detail July 11th, 13:40
Technology and fashion: Storming the maisons
Schumpeter July 11th, 10:05
Financial literacy: Back to basics
Free exchange July 11th, 10:01


Products and events



