Old Japan-China dispute over islands clouds Asia-Pacific summit

Japan and China have been at loggerheads over a disputed island chain in the South China Sea ever since the 19th century. The Japanese coast guard added fuel to the fire in Sept when it rammed and detained a Chinese fishing vessel near the islands. The seizure of the Chinese boat further complicates already strained relations among the two nations as they position themselves to square off against each other at the Asia Pacific summit which starts Nov. 13. Post resource – Old Japan-China dispute over islands clouds Asia-Pacific summit by Newsytype.com.

More about the Japan/China Senkaku argument

The territorial dispute in the South China Sea has intensified as China’s growing economic might has emboldened Beijing to increase pressure on Japan over the islands. The Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China are the territory being disputed. China-Japan relations sunk to their lowest point in decades on September 7 when two Japanese patrol ships collided with a Chinese fishing vessel. Japan has let go of the captain after arresting the man from China. This has not stopped the protests that have come from Beijing about it though. China demanded that Japan cease patrolling around the island. Japan has shown no indication it will back down.

The Japanese coast guard movie

On YouTube, you can view the coast guard event which just made the Japan-China argument over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands even worse. The Japanese government stopped the movie as it did not want the Japan-china Senkaku argument to get even worse. It went public on YouTube Nov. 5. Once the video of the collision and arrest was leaked, it was broadcast widely and repeatedly by Japanese Television. Prosecutors have asked Google, which owns YouTube, to help them find out who uploaded the movie. Google said it would cooperate “within the legal scope” of the investigation.

The Asia-Pacific summit

November 13-14, leaders from 21 nations in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will get together since the South China Marine event has made relations among Japan and China so bad. More than half of the world's economic output is in this region which is why the economic growth being balanced within the region is the purpose of the Asia-Pacific summit. In Yokohama, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan hopes that President Hu Jintao from China will meet with him. Japan is getting blames by China for the tension. This has made it harder for the talk to happen. It’s pointed out by Japanese analysts that Chinese citizens don't trust Japan at all. This is why it would be hard for China to cooperate with Japan without losing the citizens' trust.

Articles cited

Reuters

af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFTOE6A705Y20101108?pageNumber=3&virtualBrandChannel=

Asia News

asianews.it/news-en/Russia-and-China-against-Japan-for-dominance-in-the-Pacific-19932.html

AFP

google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jmLJaV0Xc2GXMdKptz7Z7_eMx33Q?docId=CNG.74bac5b4cc9462fd7346e1c94b90120a.811