There is trouble brewing in Asia where Japan and China both have laid claim to
the Senkaku islands. There is a long history of these islands belonging to both.
The problem stems in part because the Chinese have a vote coming in Oct for
party leader and the military is making noise that it wants its candidate to win or
else the military will take action on its own which may include voiding the vote and
placing its candidate in place. The islands have no people living on them, but they do
have possible gas and oil. this situation is driven also by wide spread desire by
the masses to have this island.
The Japan play for the island is driven by large
scale desire by their masses and less so by leadership.
The only real way this gets resolved is by the Japanese
caving in and that looks less likely by the day.
So this might flare up within weeks and turn into a shooting
war by china and japan or by proxies doing the shooting in either case
this would blow up our election into something else altogether.
DailyKos has further information if you so desire.
Weekend of September 15-16
Citizens in mainland China participated in protest marches and called for a boycott of Japanese products in as many as 85 Chinese cities[147], including Shanghai, Shenyang, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou and Harbin, as well as Hong Kong[148][149][150] Demonstrations escalated to arson of Japanese vehicles and other criminal acts in Beijing[151], Shenzhen[151], Guangzhou[152], Changsha[153][154], Suzhou[151], Mianyang[150], Xi’an[155][154][156] and Qingdao[151].
There were protests in Los Angeles[157], Houston, San Francisco[158] and Chicago, as well as a petition to the US government and Congress to take a neutral stance over the dispute.[159]
South China Morning Post reporter Felix Wong was reportedly beaten by police in Shenzhen while covering the protests.[160]
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters “I am concerned that when these countries engage in provocations of one kind or another over these various islands that it raises the possibility that a misjudgment on one side or the other could result in violence and could result in conflict”[161]
K: this is from wiki about events in regards to this story during the weekend of Sept 15-16. The interesting one is Panetta remarks.
It shows that the U.S is clearly worried about the situation. I would look for escalation coming soon.
If I were you, I’d worry more about the Vietnam/China situation than the Japan/China one. Yes, its the Japan one in the news, but out of the three governments (Japan, China, Vietnam), I feel Vietnam is by far the most likely to start aggressions.
I don’t know who the ‘military’s candidate’ is. Hu Jintao is the Chief military commissioner as well as the Party leader, and it is fairly clear that Xi Jinping is intended to be his successor, I find it very unlikely this will change. The ‘new left’ are in a bit of a shambles after Bo was ousted. There is clearly some wrangling going on between the highest party figures, clearly, but its far from a sign of genuine instability.
The ‘election’ at the congress is in some senses a formality. When Hu Jintao was ‘elected’, he won by about 3,000 votes for and about 4 votes against, even though in some factions of the party his election was contentious. Xi Jinping is a certainty and has been for some time, as are several other key people. Only the lower ranks have yet to be fully decided.
Two Chinese marine surveillance ships entered what Japan considers its territorial waters near disputed islands in the East China Sea on Monday, prompting an official protest from Tokyo amid rising tension between Asia’s two biggest economies.
China’s Xinhua news agency confirmed that two civilian surveillance ships were undertaking a “rights defense” patrol near the islands, citing the State Oceanic Administration, which controls the ships.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry said it had lodged an official protest with the Chinese envoy to Japan against the move.
Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated sharply after Japan bought the islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, sparking anti-Japan protests in cities across China.
“In recent days, Japan has constantly provoked incidents concerning the Diaoyu islands issue, gravely violating China’s territorial sovereignty,” China’s Xinhua news agency said.
The ship patrols were intended to exercise China’s “administrative jurisdiction” over the islands, it said."
Today ships from Taiwan and Japan shot water cannons at each other. A picture
that I am unable to put here, shows a picture of over 50 ships zigging and zaggin
all over the ocean while various ships are shooting their water cannons at each other.
it is starting to get serious because next time it may be with real bullets.
PS: I have also learned that taiwan and China have agreed on this matter and
are cooperating. This is huge news as those two have come close to war a few times.
Late edit: just learned that the U.S on Sept. 20 has taken Japan’s side in this matter
and has told China just that. china has strongly protested the matter in Washington
and we haven’t heard the last of this.
We have a defensive pact with Japan and China is one of our major trading partners, of course it’s our concern, only isolationists or people who know little of world politics would say it’s not our concern.
I concede being an isolationist, and don’t see that as a negative thing.
However, China has a trade surplus with the US, mostly consisting of cheap household/manufactured goods. It hurts China if due to armed conflict, they cannot export microwave ovens or cheap dumphones.
As for Japan, they need to get over their war guilt, and arm.
Well, obviously there’s no reason to actually care. I’m pretty sure Britain doesn’t have any economic, social or historical links to either China or Japan at all.
We’re always at our absolute safest when our heads are in the sand, after all.
Historical? The Opium Wars were long ago, as was WWII when both were our enemies. China got Hong Kong back, so who are they to complain now?
Social? Neither was a British colony or a Commonwealth country, and neither speak English.
Economic? China sells us their cheap crap, but so what? As we’re in recession still, I bet demand for them has gone down.
We have zero interests in the East China Sea, and generally believe we should only focus on critical national defence. The only recent UK conflict I see the rationale in was the Falklands, and even then this was a long time ago also.
Yeah, many top writers, artists, scientists, etc. is doing nothing. Incidentally, you have to thank the “British Empire” for the existence of your own country most likely.
Oh, I dunno, it just seems many of the top contemporary of such are British. Unless you believe JK Rowling, or even Richard Dawkins are French or Nigerian or something. The very Web you post on was devised by a British person.
I think the last globally noted US writer was Dr. Seuss. As for US scientists, the last noted one was probably Edison.