A group of Hong Kong-based 'activists' has approached the Senkaku Islands by a boat. They were not armed, but they threw lumps of concrete at the Japanese Coast Guard ships which tried to intercept them around the islands. After landing with their national flags, all the all the fourteen were captured and sent back to Hong Kong, where they are now heroes.
I would ask the Chinese government several questions.
First, I ask if the Chinese authorities were not in a position to stop them on the sea. Apparently they came with the full knowledge of the authorities, even perhaps with their hidden encouragement. The Chinese government announced as soon as they were captured that they should be released unconditionally. This shows that they watched their activities from the beginning. The Coast Guard, though armed, did not use any of their weapons this time. This shows that the Chinese government knowingly let the attackers face the firearms of the Coast Guard, a fact that the human lives are not valued in China at all.
Second, anti-Japanese demonstrations are reported not only from Hong Kong, where the attackers are publicly saying that they would try in October again, but in a number of cities in Mainland China. Is it spontaneous? Or is it the manipulation of the un-informed masses by the authorities, who want, as usual, to make a noise to the extent they see it fit, and then suppress it themselves. The common people are mere tools.
Third, China is a huge, gigantic country. It is trying to lay its hands one-sidedly just on any place where natural resources are present.
Fourth, China's outward expansion, backed by its military power, causes more and more anxiety in surrounding countries. Some of them are trying to make use of it to enhance their own military power. I hope Japan is not one of them. It is true, however, that China's increasing militarizatiion has tended to strengthen the Japan-US military alliance to the greater despair of the people. Unlike some decades ago, no one here is anymore in a position to depend on China to put a stop to the American imperialism together. The same applies to North Korea. This is what worries the Japanese people most at present.
Finally, I will briefly state why an average intellectual like me is of opinion that the Senkaku belongs to Japan. There are broadly two. It was annexed into Okinawa Prefecture in January 1895. For 75 years until 1970, until it was ascertained that the islands are located in resource-rich waters, China never put a claim to them or protested against the Japanese possession at all. Also, contrary to what China is telling the world, the islands were not mentioned anywhere in the Treaty which transferred Taiwan and the nearby islands from China to Japan.
Will the Senkaku remain an explosive between Japan and China for some more years? I for one do not think so. There are easy ways to solve them. The democratization of the Chinese regime is one of them, which is indispensable to all of us concerned.
I would ask the Chinese government several questions.
First, I ask if the Chinese authorities were not in a position to stop them on the sea. Apparently they came with the full knowledge of the authorities, even perhaps with their hidden encouragement. The Chinese government announced as soon as they were captured that they should be released unconditionally. This shows that they watched their activities from the beginning. The Coast Guard, though armed, did not use any of their weapons this time. This shows that the Chinese government knowingly let the attackers face the firearms of the Coast Guard, a fact that the human lives are not valued in China at all.
Second, anti-Japanese demonstrations are reported not only from Hong Kong, where the attackers are publicly saying that they would try in October again, but in a number of cities in Mainland China. Is it spontaneous? Or is it the manipulation of the un-informed masses by the authorities, who want, as usual, to make a noise to the extent they see it fit, and then suppress it themselves. The common people are mere tools.
Third, China is a huge, gigantic country. It is trying to lay its hands one-sidedly just on any place where natural resources are present.
Fourth, China's outward expansion, backed by its military power, causes more and more anxiety in surrounding countries. Some of them are trying to make use of it to enhance their own military power. I hope Japan is not one of them. It is true, however, that China's increasing militarizatiion has tended to strengthen the Japan-US military alliance to the greater despair of the people. Unlike some decades ago, no one here is anymore in a position to depend on China to put a stop to the American imperialism together. The same applies to North Korea. This is what worries the Japanese people most at present.
Finally, I will briefly state why an average intellectual like me is of opinion that the Senkaku belongs to Japan. There are broadly two. It was annexed into Okinawa Prefecture in January 1895. For 75 years until 1970, until it was ascertained that the islands are located in resource-rich waters, China never put a claim to them or protested against the Japanese possession at all. Also, contrary to what China is telling the world, the islands were not mentioned anywhere in the Treaty which transferred Taiwan and the nearby islands from China to Japan.
Will the Senkaku remain an explosive between Japan and China for some more years? I for one do not think so. There are easy ways to solve them. The democratization of the Chinese regime is one of them, which is indispensable to all of us concerned.
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