Why do people want the Senkaku Islands?
Why do people want the Senkaku Islands?
One common explanation is that important strategic and economic stakes hang in the balance. The islands are said to offer a key strategic foothold in the East China Sea as well as title to rich fishing grounds and plentiful oil and gas resources.
Who is fighting over the Senkaku Islands?
Aside from a brief period after World War II when the United States controlled the territory, Japan has exercised effective control over the islands since 1895. China began to reassert claims over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the 1970s, citing historic rights to the area.
Why does China want the Senkaku Islands?
Yoshihara contends that China’s reasons for wanting to seize the Senkakus goes beyond simple military expansionism and territorial aggrandizement. He says, “Chinese leaders have concluded that if they can gain effective control of the East China Sea, they will be able to stymie U.S. military operations.”
When did Japan claim Senkaku Islands?
1895
Meanwhile, no valid ground under international law has been shown to support that China had established sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands before Japan incorporated them into its territory in 1895. It is only since the 1970s that the Chinese government began to make its own assertions over the Senkaku Islands.
Who owns Senkaku island?
Japan
The Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands are currently under Japanese administration, although their sovereignty is contested by both China and Taiwan. When the Japanese government purchased the islands from a private individual in September 2012, there were protests in China and counterprotests in Japan.
Did Japan buy the Senkaku Islands?
In January 1895, after having carefully ascertained that there had been no trace of control over the Senkaku Islands by another state prior to that period, the Government of Japan incorporated the islands into the Japanese territory by lawful means under the international legal framework which existed at that time.
