Εφτασε στα διαφιλονικούμενα νησιά Σενκάκου ο ιαπωνικός στολίσκος

Ένας στολίσκος από περίπου είκοσι ιαπωνικά πλοία έφτασε τα ξημερώματα της Κυριακής στα νησιά Σενκάκου ώστε να επιβεβαιώσει την κυριαρχία της Ιαπωνίας στη συστάδα αυτή των νησιών που διεκδικούνται από το Πεκίνο, δήλωσε δημοσιογράφος του Γαλλικού Πρακτορείου Ειδήσεων (AFP) που επιβαίνει σε ένα από τα σκάφη Ο στολίσκος με περίπου 150 άτομα έφτασε στις 5:30 τοπική ώρα, (20:30 GMT ) στο κύριο νησί του αρχιπελάγους.

Ένας από τους συμμετέχοντες στην αποστολή δήλωσε ότι οι ακτιβιστές σχεδιάζουν να δέσουν τα σκάφη τους, να κατέβουν στην ξηρά, να τραγουδήσουν τον εθνικό ύμνο και να κάνουν πικ-νικ.
Η αποστολή αναχώρησε το βράδυ του Σαββάτου από το νησί Ισικάγκι, το νοτιότερο σημείο της Ιαπωνίας, για τα νσιά Σενκάκου, στο αρχιπέλαγος που βρίσκεται 200 χιλιόμετρα ανοικτά των ακτών της Ταϊβάν, στη Θάλασσα της Νότιας Κίνας.
«Θέλουμε να δείξουμε στη διεθνή κοινότητα ότι τα νησιά αυτά είναι δικά μας.
Είναι το μέλλον της Ιαπωνίας που βρίσκεται σε κίνδυνο», δήλωσε πριν την αναχώρηση στο Γαλλικό Πρακτορείο Ειδήσεων (AFP) ένας τοπικός πολιτικός.
Από την πλευρά της η Κίνα ζήτησε από την Ιαπωνία «να σταματήσει αμέσως όλες τις ενέργειες που παραβιάζουν την εδαφική κυριαρχία της».
Η ένταση έχει κλιμακωθεί αυτή την εβδομάδα μεταξύ του Πεκίνου και του Τόκιο, σχετικά με το συγκεκριμένο αρχιπέλαγος που εκτός από τη στρατηγική σημασία του, έχει σημαντικά οικονομικά κίνητρα καθώς τα νερά του είναι πλούσια σε ψάρια, ενώ στο βυθό ενδεχομένως να υπάρχουν υδρογονάνθρακες.

express gr

19/8/12

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• Κλιμακώνεται η ένταση στις σχέσεις Κίνας - Ιαπωνίας (18/8/12

• Κλίμα έντασης μεταξύ Κίνας και Ιαπωνίας(15/8/12)

 

*China-Japan islands row

Ties between China and Japan have been repeatedly strained by a territorial row over a group of islands, known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China. The BBC looks at the background to the row. 

 

What is the row about?

The eight uninhabited islands and rocks in question lie in the East China Sea. They have a total area of about 7 sq km and lie northeast of Taiwan, east of the Chinese mainland and southwest of Japan's southern-most prefecture, Okinawa.

They matter because they are close to strategically important shipping lanes, offer rich fishing grounds and are thought to contain oil deposits. The islands are controlled by Japan.

What is Japan's claim?

Japan says it surveyed the islands for 10 years and determined that they were uninhabited. That being the case, on 14 January 1895 it erected a sovereignty marker that formally incorporated the islands into Japanese territory. The Senkaku islands became part of the Nansei Shoto islands - also known as the Ryukyu islands and now as modern-day Okinawa prefecture.

After World War II Japan renounced claims to a number of territories and islands including Taiwan in the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco. But under the treaty the Nansei Shoto islands came under US trusteeship and were then returned to Japan in 1971, under the Okinawa reversion deal.

Japan says that China raised no objections to the San Francisco deal. And it says that it is only since the 1970s, when the issue of oil resources in the area emerged, that Chinese and Taiwanese authorities began pressing their claims.

What is China's claim?

China says that the Diaoyu islands have been part of its territory since ancient times, serving as important fishing grounds administered by the province of Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that this is "fully proven by history and is legally well-founded".

Taiwan was ceded to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, after the Sino-Japanese war. When Taiwan was returned in the Treaty of San Francisco, China says the islands - as part of it - should also have been returned. But Beijing says Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek did not raise the issue, even when the Diaoyu islands were named in the later Okinawa reversion deal, because he depended on the US for support.

Separately, Taiwan also claims the islands.

Have there been incidents before?

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that the issue should be shelved for future settlement and that the two sides should try to prevent it from becoming "a disturbing factor" in bilateral ties. There have nonetheless been sporadic incidents over the islands.

In 1996 a Japanese group established a lighthouse on one of the islands. Chinese activists then sailed repeatedly to the islands and in one incident, Hong Kong activist David Chan jumped into the sea and drowned. Since then, there have been periodic attempts by Chinese and Taiwanese activists to sail to the islands. In 2004, Japan arrested seven Chinese activists who landed on the main island.

There have also been face-offs between Japanese patrol boats and Chinese or Taiwanese fishing vessels. In 2005, 50 Taiwanese fishing boats staged a protest in the area, complaining of harassment by Japanese patrols.

In September 2010, Japan seized a Chinese trawler that collided with two coast guard vessels near to the islands, sparking a serious diplomatic row. Small anti-Japanese protests were held in several cities in China. A visit by 1,000 Japanese students to the Shanghai Expo and a concert by a top Japanese band were also cancelled.

In the end, Japan released the entire crew of the trawler - first the 14-member crew and then the captain, several days later.

In April 2012, a fresh row ensued after Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara said he would use public money to buy the islands from the current private owner.

And in August of the same year, a group of activists sailed to the islands from Hong Kong, with seven landing on one island. All 14 on board, including journalists and crew members, have been detained.

So what next?

The Senkaku/Diaoyu issue complicates efforts by Japan and China to resolve a dispute over oil and gas fields in the East China Sea that both claim.

It also highlights the more robust attitude China has been taking to its territorial claims in both the East China Sea and the South China Sea in recent months.

 BBC News 16/8/12