Diaoyu
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A Framework for Resolving Japan-China Dispute over Islands
How to make sense of the dispute between Japan and China over some half a dozen uninhabited islets in the East China Sea known as the Diaoyu to the Chinese and the Senkaku to the Japanese? With a combined area of just a couple of square kilometers, and no permanent human use of any of […]
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China’s ‘10-dash line’ increases territory claims
As has been the case with many confrontations in history, aggressive countries draw proverbial lines in the sand to mark their own expansion plans against the resolve of other countries whose territories they covet. In the present day People’s Republic of China [PRC], however, it’s not a line in the sand but a “10-dash line” […]
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Japan calls to stop unilateral actions in South China Sea
During the recently concluded Summit of ASEAN with United States, Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Russia, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that countries involve in disputes within South China sea should exercise self restraint and avoid unilateral actions. “We expect [parties involve] to exercise self-restraint against action that could undermine peace […]
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Phl, Japan lawmakers call for rule of law in sea disputes
MANILA, Philippines – Filipino and Japanese lawmakers signed yesterday a Joint Document for Cooperation on Promotion of the Rule of Law at Sea. Hiroshi Nakada led Japanese lawmakers in signing the document. The document reaffirmed the two countries’ valuable partnership and sharing of common values like freedom, democracy and respect for basic human rights, as […]
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Taiwan diplomat fears China-Japan ‘explosive’ incident
China’s territorial dispute with Japan over a chain of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea could lead to an “explosive” confrontation, Taiwan’s top diplomat in the United States warned Wednesday. “These little islands could trigger something,” Lyushun Shen, ambassador of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, said in an […]
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Better war of words than clashes at sea
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue last week, Lieutenant-General Wang Guanzhong dropped a proverbial bomb in the Island Ballroom. Halfway through his 38-minute speech, the deputy chief of general staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) accused Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and United States Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel of “coordinating” and “supporting” one another […]
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Japan, Lawfare and the East China Sea
In an article published by The Diplomat on May 29, Jerome Cohen makes an impassioned and well-reasoned argument for states in East Asia to utilize independent, third-party arbitration mechanisms wherever possible to challenge China’s maximalist claims. This was very much the theme of a question I asked Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his opening keynote […]
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Signs of rule of law in Asia’s Wild West
One reason the world pays so much attention to a white-knuckle struggle over East Asia’s seas and islands is that the watery clashes resemble the bad old days of America’s Wild West. Brute force competes with the law. Crude power tries to trump principles applicable to all. A grand battle is underway to create a […]
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China, Japan exchange barbs over action by warplanes in East China Sea
(Reuters) – Japan and China on Sunday accused each other’s air forces of dangerous behavior over the East China Sea, with Japan saying Chinese aircraft had come within a few dozen meters of its warplanes. Japan’s defense minister accused Beijing of going “over the top” in its approach to disputed territory. China’s defense ministry said […]
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South China Sea Clash: Asia’s Dangerous Game
Collisions between ships of Vietnam and China following the latter’s installation of a deep water oil rig in the disputed South China Sea mark a dangerous escalation of simmering tensions. Simultaneous to this fracas near the contested Paracel Islands, maritime authorities of the Philippines have arrested Chinese fishermen close to another coveted portion of the […]