China V Japan

[Slim]

You might have missed it in the aftermath of doping cyclists, but there's been a bit of action out in asia:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/19/world/asia/china-japan-island-dispute-escalates-to-air.html?_r=1&

 

Chest beating or the beginning of the end?

[Donald Trumps]

Japs are loading their fighters with tracer

 

No shots fired yet tho

[manshimajin]

Chest beating or the beginning of the end?

It reminds me a bit of the Malvinas - though the Malvinas are much closer to Agentina than the UK whereas the Senkaku Islands are a bit closer to the Republic of China than Japan (by about 30 km). But both disputes are partially driven by jingoism and domestic political agendas, but also by oil and fishing.

 

Hopefully a sensible solution can be found through international negotiation - which in reality needs to occur throughout the South China Sea as well as the East China Sea. If there is going to be a major conflict in the region it will spread much further as China, Korea, the Philippenes, Vietnam, Malaysia all have conflicting claims in the region. The pressure is on ASEAN to sort it out.

[woolley]

It's another one of those flea arguments about who owns the dog.

[Chinahand]

I've followed Jerry Cohen's work on Chinese law for many years - his analysis is that the stronger claim to the Islands is Chinese.

 

Link

[manshimajin]

I've followed Jerry Cohen's work on Chinese law for many years - his analysis is that the stronger claim to the Islands is Chinese.

Link

 

I am sure that the Argentinians can also find people who can demonstrate that their claim to the Malvinas is stronger in law than the British one. The fundamental point is that the Senkaku Islands have economic value and the only way of sensibly resolving the situation is for the parties to negotiate. Neither the Chinese nor the Japanese seem at present to be willing to do so in ways that will concede any rights to the other party. Until they can be more accommodating of each other the situation will remain fraught with danger. Unfortunately it is not the only point of potential conflict between China and its neighbours around the China Sea and China is in the process of significantly building up its maritime strength to back up its position with force or threats of force.

 

I wonder if this also plays well as a distraction for the Chinese and Japanese Governments away from domestic issues just as the Malvinas seem to play that role in Argentina.

[Matt Bawden]

It seems that Japan are seeking to change their nuclear weapons status.

[Donald Trumps]

You'd think they'd had enough of 'nuclear' by & large

[cheeky boy]

As China becomes more prosperous it will have need of an enemy in order to maintain control of its own population

 

The US Government discovered in the 1950s that it was no longer enough to keep promising a better future, particularly as its citizens already had a high standard of living. They had to promise protection and security and to do that they had to have a bogeyman

 

For years this was pretty simple, the USSR was evil and would put American families in Siberian labour camps or destroy them in a nuclear fireball. Continual ramping up of this threat kept everything stable at home.

 

Things took a wobble when the USSR collapsed and the US missile factories had to start making Mountain Bikes, A "War on Drugs" was declared in the hope of drumming up some evil but as half the population was actually using drugs this didn't get very far

 

Then out of nowhere came Osama Bin Liner, pretty small potatoes compared to a nuclear superpower, but with some careful PR work Al Qaida soon fitted the bill

 

Expect more of the same from China, particularly when it has to start invading neighbours to "bring stability to the region" and "neutralise threats" although they will probably stop short of "exporting democracy"

[Donald Trumps]

Let's hope they don't turn on the poor Tibetans

[Albert Tatlock]

Japs are loading their fighters with tracer

There's a nip in the air on the island at the moment.

[Donald Trumps]

Hopefully surprise attack on Court of Tangerine Emperor is in the offing

[Matt Bawden]

As China becomes more prosperous it will have need of an enemy in order to maintain control of its own population

 

The US Government discovered in the 1950s that it was no longer enough to keep promising a better future, particularly as its citizens already had a high standard of living. They had to promise protection and security and to do that they had to have a bogeyman

 

For years this was pretty simple, the USSR was evil and would put American families in Siberian labour camps or destroy them in a nuclear fireball. Continual ramping up of this threat kept everything stable at home.

 

Things took a wobble when the USSR collapsed and the US missile factories had to start making Mountain Bikes, A "War on Drugs" was declared in the hope of drumming up some evil but as half the population was actually using drugs this didn't get very far

 

Then out of nowhere came Osama Bin Liner, pretty small potatoes compared to a nuclear superpower, but with some careful PR work Al Qaida soon fitted the bill

 

Expect more of the same from China, particularly when it has to start invading neighbours to "bring stability to the region" and "neutralise threats" although they will probably stop short of "exporting democracy"

 

The thing is that unless China takes over the whole world it'll always have neighbours.

[Bombay Bad Boy]

Just when life wasn't interesting enough,

 

North Korea nuke test aimed at US

[ScotsAlan]

I saw a sign in a shop over here in China last year.

 

It said " Chinese patriots feel free to shop here. We do not serve Japanese dogs".

 

I disagree with Monkey Boy tho. This is not to do with China needing an enemy. It all goes back to the war's between the two countries in the past. Because China did not actually win WW2.

 

After the Japanese surrender, the Allies asked the Japanese Army in Manchuria not to surrender their guns to the Red Army. In the end of course the Russians took the guns from the Japanese and gave them to the Red Army. I don't think Mao was invited to the table when it came to the discussions over what to do with the Surrendered Japan.

 

From this, I will stick my neck out, and suggest that because the Japanese do not feel they were defeated by the Chinese they don't really feel the need to make humble apologies to the country they invaded.

 

Even to this day the Japanese still deny war crimes committed against the Chinese.

 

But now China have financial clout they are making a stand. Wether they are right or wrong I don't know. But the Chinese are certainly determined not to lose face to their old enemy.

 

Me? I love everyone :-)