Senkaku / Diaoyu: "cold war" over islands fought out in the air- Japan and China seem unwilling to give up on the issue of disputed sovereignty of the archipelago. Beijing sends its researchers with military escort, Tokyo responds with a joint military exercise with the United States.
Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The tension between Tokyo and Beijing over the ownership of islands in the South China Sea has now assumed Cold War dimensions. China has warned that the Japanese attempt to encircle the islands "has failed and continues to fail" and announced a series of geographical studies "to safeguard the rights of the sea". Japan for its part has responded by scrambling its military aircraft with U.S jest, though for now the exercises are taking place away from the hot zone.The United States and Japanese fighter jets have in fact begun a series of joint exercises that will last for 5 days in the south-western area of the Japanese archipelago. The squadrons involved include 6 U.S. FA-18 bombers and 4 Japanese F-4 jets: the total exercises in will involve 90 American soldiers and an unknown number of Japanese colleagues.
The decision to conduct joint military exercises comes a few weeks after the election of Shinzo Abe, the new Japanese prime minister considered a "hawk" in foreign policy and economics. Abe has based his campaign on a policy of toughness towards China and has repeatedly held that sovereignty over the disputed islands "is not in discussions." According to Ministry of Defense sources in Tokyo, permission to shoot at "anyone" in breach of the national territory (including air and water) is being considered.
I've had a look at what the islands look like. They're bloody freezing and they haven't got a population on them. Willy waving, anyone?
02 Feb 2013, 4:00 am
