Govt 'in last stage of talks to buy Senkakus'
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The central government is in the final stage of negotiations to buy three of the Senkaku Islands in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, directly from the owner for about 2 billion yen, according to sources close to the government.
The government plans to buy the islands, which China also claims, with reserve funds, the sources said.
With the aim of buying the islands before the central government, the Tokyo metropolitan government has collected more than 1.4 billion yen in donations from citizens.
The central government hopes to convince the owner of the need to bring the islands under state control and to offer him more than Tokyo has collected, the sources said.
The Tokyo government started negotiations to purchase the islands with the owner before the central government did.
However, when the Tokyo government filed a request for permission to land on Uotsurijima island, one of the Senkaku Islands, in August, it did not include a letter of agreement from the owner, prompting some government officials to suspect negotiations between Tokyo and the owner have bogged down.
But the Tokyo government has not changed its plan to buy the islands. On Sunday, a team of surveyors dispatched by Tokyo surveyed the islands and conducted research from boats in the sea surrounding the islands.
Therefore, the central government hopes to speed up negotiations with the owner to sign a purchase contract as soon as possible.
(Sep. 4, 2012)
Govt 'in last stage of talks to buy Senkakus' : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)
Since the days of British colonialism, the only country in Asia that was supportive to India's independence has been Japan. We all know how Subhas and his Azad Hind Fauz received moral and material support from Japan and how Japan recognized an independent Indian govt under Azad Hind's leadership.
Its unfortunate that the Japanese effort could not materialize as the Chinese assisted the colonial British forces to stop that effort. Well, thats a different story. May be that was Azad Hind's destiny.
Japan, however, assisted India even after India's independence from the British rule. Japanese products proved to be a great help to the Indian society as we all know about Honda, Suzuki, Maruti etc. India's bilateral relationship with Japan has been always good and Japan perhaps considers India as a good friend.
Now a friend in need is a friend indeed. I think, Japan is in a trouble as some Japanese islands, called Senkakus, are now claimed by Chinese. Should India make a standpoint and officially declare its support to Japan's sovereignty over those Japanese islands? India also has territorial disputes with China and so if India and Japan unite, they both can reject Chinese claims.
IMO, India should display strong solidarity with Japan. India should not wait for Japan asking India's support; rather India should offer Japan its support. Indian Foreign Ministry should call a Press Conference and officially declare, "Yes, we support Japan's territorial integrity and sovereignty over its Senkakus island chains and we will be willing to provide military help if Japan ever asks us to provide to safeguard its territory." That would a hell of a strong statement. Not only from a strategic point of view, but also from a moral point of view, such diplomatic step would be radical.
What do you think of it? Can India do that? Should India do that? Please share your opinion with us. We might get such statement from the Indian govt in the coming days.