Dear Oldman1, thank you for kind reply.
Senkaku Island is a disputed territory. Sino-Japan agreement states it as such. Both agreed to solve the issue through mutual dialouge.
The entire thought process is that a peaceful and harmonious settlement is the key.
Any turn to conflict will be extremely harmful to everyone in Asia.
Surely no one wants to see Asia destroyed? Or is it so?
That depends on the parties involved. As you pointed out, there should be mutual dialogue, yet we see otherwise.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...sel-neared-senkakus-sources-say/#.V4zMEqLCtDo
Japan warned China as naval vessel neared Senkakus, sources say
Japan warned Beijing of consequences if a Chinese naval vessel near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea intruded into Japanese territorial waters there this month, government sources said Saturday.
The warning, conveyed by then Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki to Chinese Ambassador Cheng Yonghua early on June 9, is thought to have related to the possible mobilization of Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels for maritime security operations.
Such operations can be ordered by the defense minister to respond to situations deemed difficult for the Japan Coast Guard to cope with. The use of arms is permitted, although conditionally.
Saiki had consulted with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on the matter before relaying the warning to Beijing, they said.
Under a package of security-related laws enacted last September, the Cabinet is allowed to approve the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces by phone to speed up the response to “gray zone” incidents that stop short of military attacks on Japan.
Maritime security operations can therefore be ordered and approved immediately after a foreign vessel is confirmed to have entered Japanese territorial waters in a manner that does not constitute innocent passage as admitted by international law.
Such operations have been ordered three times in the past, including in November 2004, when a Chinese nuclear-powered sub intruded into Japanese territorial waters around the Sakishima Islands in Okinawa Prefecture. The submarine had left the territorial waters by the time the order for the operation was issued.
Around 2 a.m. on June 9, Saiki summoned Cheng to the Foreign Ministry after a Chinese frigate entered a contiguous zone just outside Japanese territorial waters near the Senkakus, a Japanese-controlled uninhabited group of islets, for the first time ever.
According to the sources, Saiki strongly protested the incident and urged immediate withdrawal of the vessel from the zone, telling Cheng that Tokyo would not let Beijing have its way and would “take necessary action” if the ship intruded into Japanese territorial waters.
In response, the Chinese ambassador said he would convey Japan’s message to Beijing urgently. The vessel left the zone at about 3:10 a.m. Thursday.
The Defense Ministry had notified the Foreign Ministry around 10 p.m. the previous day that a Chinese frigate was approaching a contiguous zone near the Senkakus.
The Foreign Ministry then warned China about the ship’s sailing through diplomatic routes several times. An MSDF destroyer dispatched for surveillance activity also repeatedly sent a warning by radio.
Dear Oldman1, thank you for kind reply.
Senkaku Island is a disputed territory. Sino-Japan agreement states it as such. Both agreed to solve the issue through mutual dialouge.
The entire thought process is that a peaceful and harmonious settlement is the key.
Any turn to conflict will be extremely harmful to everyone in Asia.
Surely no one wants to see Asia destroyed? Or is it so?
http://www.stripes.com/news/chinese-actions-over-senkakus-spark-more-japanese-jet-scrambles-1.417102
Chinese actions over Senkakus spark more Japanese jet scrambles
By
Erik Slavin
Stars and Stripes
Published: July 1, 2016
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Chinese military activity near islands covered under the U.S.-Japan defense treaty resulted in a record number of Japanese fighter aircraft responses in recent months, Japan Defense Ministry officials say.
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force scrambled jets against Chinese aircraft about 200 combined times in April through June, compared with 114 incidents during the same period last year, defense officials told broadcaster NHK during a news conference Thursday.
Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano, chief of staff for Japan’s forces, said most of the incidents came near the Senkaku Islands, which have been administered by Japan since the U.S. returned them, along with Okinawa, in 1972.
In recent years, China has asserted what it calls an “indisputable” claim to the uninhabited islands, which it argues should have been returned along with Taiwan following World War II.
The U.S. takes no position on any future sovereignty settlement. However, during a 2014 visit to Japan, President Barack Obama said the security alliance calling on the U.S. to defend Japan when under attack “covers all territories under Japan’s administration, including the Senkaku Islands.”
While some of the scrambles occurred after Chinese military aircraft flew within Japan’s airspace, such operations tend to happen most often as a precaution to a potential border breach.
Kawano added that Chinese aircraft and ships near the Senkakus appear to be escalating their operations, according to NHK.
Japanese responses to Chinese actions have risen annually since 2008, but jumped exponentially after Japan agreed to nationalize the once privately held islands in September 2012.
In the first quarter of 2012, Japan had responded to only 15 potential incursions.
In late 2013, China declared an Air Defense Identification Zone over the Senkakus that overlaps with Japan’s identification zone. Both nations’ aircraft are coming into contact more closely and frequently as a result, according to a report released Thursday by the International Crisis Group, an independent non-governmental group.
“A credible crisis management protocol is urgently needed to manage the increasing, unplanned contacts between their military aircraft and ships,” the report said.
The group made several recommendations, including short-term stopgaps while Japan and China work to resume talks on a permanent air and sea communication system.
“Fundamental mistrust makes true reconciliation unlikely in the near future, but there is common interest in preventing or limiting an accidental crisis that would harm the political, security and economic interests,” the report said.
