China should 'reconsider' who owns Okinawa: state media

[itaskol]

May 8, 2013, 12:17 pm
BEIJING (AFP) - China's top newspaper on Wednesday published a call for a "reconsideration" of Japan's sovereignty over the island of Okinawa -- home to major US bases -- with the Asian powers already embroiled in a territorial row.

The lengthy article in the People's Daily, China's most-circulated newspaper and the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist party, argued that China may have rights to the Ryukyu island chain, which includes Okinawa.

"Unresolved problems relating to the Ryukyu Islands have reached the time for reconsideration," wrote Zhang Haipeng and Li Guoqiang, citing post World War II declarations which require Japan to return Chinese territory.

The authors are scholars at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, considered China's top state-run think tank.

The article also repeated Chinese government arguments for China's historical claims over a set of tiny uninhabited islets in the East China Sea known as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese.

The two nations have stepped up a war of words over the dispute in recent months, with Beijing's vessels regularly entering the waters around the Tokyo-controlled islands, stoking fears of armed conflict.

Okinawa is the biggest of the Ryukyu islands, which stretch for about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from Japan's mainland, and was the centre of the Ryukyuan kingdom which paid tribute to Chinese emperors until it was absorbed by Japan in 1879.

The island is home to major US air force and marine bases as well as 1.3 million people, who are considered more closely related to Japan in ethnic and linguistic terms than to China.

But some Chinese see historical ties as a basis for sovereignty and dismiss Japan's possession of the islands as a legacy of its aggressive expansionism that ended in defeat at the end of the Second World War.

China's government does not make such claims, but state media have from time to time carried articles and commentaries questioning Japan's authority.

China should 'reconsider' who owns Okinawa: state media - The West Australian
人民日报论 琉球归属可再议

 

[visom]

...really?

 

[Maxtini]

Hmmm~ this is reminiscent of German Nazi argument to regain "lost" territories.

Indeed, most Chinese historical narratives theme has always been centered on regaining past territories; the so called "统一中国" (unified China). Nationalists interprete this as unifying Mainland China, Macao, HongKong, and Taiwan; However, ultranationalists interprete this as encompassing every territories which had historically under the Chinese influence, including Monggolia, part of Siberia, Okinawa, and every part of what now be other countries territories.

I think in the long run the Chinese government should crack down on its own ultra-nationalists within the government; otherwise it would be a disaster towards the stability of Asia.

 

[Juice]

The US. Paid for with our blood.

 

[GR!FF!N]

Okinawa is a part of Japan.I wonder why China is making fuss over islands which was handover to Japan over 400 years ago??when time changes,Geo-Politics change,boundaries of a country also changes.It was part of Chinese ming dynasty since 1429 and later became a province of Japan in 1609.and later it became a tributary state for both china and Japan.is that what china claims his???an island whose rulers became vassals of Japan over 400 years ago??funny logic,isn't it???

 

[cirr]

Anxious man loses wits, branch water kills fishes。

Muddy waters for all。

Don‘t trouble troubles till trouble troubles you！

Bring it on！！！

 

[danger007]

lol another claim.... don't know how many will come in queue.... since centuries Okinawa is part of Japan... how come chinese claim it now? i think mongols should claim entire china, in that case....

 

[cirr]

Okinawa is a part of Japan.I wonder why China is making fuss over islands which was handover to Japan over 400 years ago??when time changes,Geo-Politics change,boundaries of a country also changes.It was part of Chinese ming dynasty since 1429 and later became a province of Japan in 1609.and later it became a tributary state for both china and Japan.is that what china claims his???an island whose rulers became vassals of Japan over 400 years ago??funny logic,isn't it???

Shows how little you know about the history of Liuqiu。

Listen dude，even the Americans don't recognize Japan's sovereignty over the Liuqiu Islands。

The Americans illegally passed the administrative rights over the chain of Islands to the Japs in early 1970s to entice the latter to counter the Soviet Union。

 

[Srinivas]

lol another claim.... don't know how many will come in queue.... since centuries Okinawa is part of Japan... how come chinese claim it now? i think mongols should claim entire china, in that case....

Why not they claim some thing of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan,North Korea.

The circle will be completed

 

[cirr]

Ryukyuan independence movement：

 

[itaskol]

Okinawa is a part of Japan.I wonder why China is making fuss over islands which was handover to Japan over 400 years ago??when time changes,Geo-Politics change,boundaries of a country also changes.It was part of Chinese ming dynasty since 1429 and later became a province of Japan in 1609.and later it became a tributary state for both china and Japan.is that what china claims his???an island whose rulers became vassals of Japan over 400 years ago??funny logic,isn't it???

okinawa was not direct controlled by china in ming dynasty. china was former suzerain of okinawa at that time.

what we reconsider now is the rules after WW2

 

[danger007]

Ryukyuan independence movement：

how about the liberation from ccp? is it possible? i don't think so....

 

[GR!FF!N]

Anxious man loses wits, branch water kills fishes。

Muddy waters for all。

Don‘t trouble troubles till trouble troubles you！

Bring it on！！！

May I reiterate the words of Sherlock Holmes in famous movie "A game of Shadows"???

Be careful what you wish for...

watch this,and you might understand..

go to 2:40

 

[itaskol]

Why not they claim some thing of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan,North Korea.


The circle will be completed

tajikstan did cede land to china in 2011. , and centries old problem solved. just no one care on this kind of news.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12180567

 

[Ayush]

another claim in the making..