Territorial Disputes

Senkaku Islands dispute calls for delicate diplomacy from the US

TOKYO — This week’s escalation of a territorial dispute between China and Japan has highlighted the delicate diplomatic task facing the US as it seeks to maintain stability in a region already shaken by North Korea’s recent rocket launch. The latest episode in the long-standing row came on Thursday morning, when a Chinese marine surveillance aircraft entered Japanese airspace over the Senkakus, a group of islands in the East China Sea that are administered by Japan but also claimed by China.

China's latest diplomatic train wreck

Cain NunnsNovember 29, 2012 13:04

TAIPEI — “The aim of China's new electronic passports is to strengthen its technological abilities and make it convenient for Chinese citizens to enter or leave the country," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. "The issue of the maps in China's new passports should not be read too much into. China is willing to remain in touch with relevant countries and promote the healthy development of the exchange of people between China and the outside world." Translation: Shut up, and take it.

China fakes new Asean reality

Cain NunnsNovember 25, 2012 07:00

TAIPEI — Not happy with your diplomatic situation? Fear not. Simply create a stronger bargaining position, vigorously promote it and move forward with the reality you want to see. That was Beijing’s tactic at the Asean and East Asia summits in Cambodia this past week, where some members of the 10-party bloc pushed for talks over the increasingly volatile South China Sea.

Temperature rising in the South China Sea

BANGKOK — China’s largest claimed island in the disputed South China Sea, Yongxing, is just over half the size of New York’s Central Park. Its next-largest claim in the sea, Taiping Island, would fit inside Beijing’s Forbidden City palace with room to spare. These outcroppings are crumbs peeking up from a vast abyss. Many are swallowed by waves at high tide. Yet many of the sea’s dribs and drabs of soil are the focus of a territorial dispute with ever-sinking odds of resolution.

Japan v. China: small islands, big worry

TOKYO — Anyone who believed the territorial row between Japan and China would be a short-lived exercise in controlled aggression must now concede that the region is in this for the long haul. More than a month after Japan's government bought the islands from their private Japanese owners, sparking violent demonstrations in China, both countries continue to wage a war of brinkmanship, while trade sinks slowly toward the bottom of the East China Sea.

Senkaku dispute: Japan uses water cannons on Taiwan ships

Japan Coast Guard patrol ships fired water cannons at the Taiwanese fishing vessels after they refused to listen to warnings not to enter Japanese waters in the morning.

View from China: no mood to party

Cain NunnsSeptember 24, 2012 12:37

TAIPEI — “The Japanese government, regardless of China's firm opposition, insisted on 'buying' the Diaoyu Islands, which was illegal and severely damaged China-Japan relations and ruined the atmosphere of the 40th anniversary,” state-run Xinhua reported on its website.

View from Japan: 'disappointed' in China for canceling anniversary celebration

TOKYO — The immediate threat of a clash between Chinese and Japanese vessels near the Senkakus has abated, but the recent flare-up over ownership of the islands in the East China Sea has left one of the region's most important bilateral relationships in tatters. On Sunday, China abruptly canceled an event scheduled for Thursday to celebrate 40 years since the countries normalized diplomatic ties. The row of the five islets has led to the cancellation of thousands of flight bookings, mostly from China to Japan, as well as sports and cultural events.

LONDON, UK — To make a real breakthrough, Washington needs to synchronize its different strategies in the boiling waters of both the South China Sea and East China Sea.

The tension over territory disputes between China and neighboring countries has escalated in recent months. After the naval standoff with the Philippines around the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, China’s move to establish Sansha City on Woody Island in the Paracels chain sparked protests in Vietnam and drew concerns among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Meanwhile, triggered by Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara’s proposal to purchase disputed islands in the East China Sea, radical nationalists from China, Taiwan and Japan have repeatedly tried to land on islands to claim sovereignty, stirring regional stability.

The United States has taken different strategies dealing with the same opponent: China.

In the South China Sea, Washington has played a proactive role, encouraging countries claiming territories in the Paracel and Spratly island chains to return to the negotiating table in search of a peaceful resolution, while denouncing Beijing’s “divide and conquer” strategy that favors bilateral dialogues rather than a multilateral framework. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Indonesia earlier this week to urge Southeast Asian countries to present a unified front in dealing with Beijing.