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105-586: The ARDB is based at Camp Ainoura in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. In light of tensions over the Senkaku Islands and the decision for putting the Chinese Coast Guard under military control, Japan started the process of creating an elite marine unit. This brigade was designed to conduct amphibious operations and to recover any Japanese islands taken by an adversary. In 2006, Japan devised

210-549: A 38-year old JGSDF soldier, Suguru Maehara, with the rank of Sergeant 1st Class, was killed in a vehicular accident during joint exercises with US and Filipino troops on 7 October 2018. The vehicle he was riding in collided with another vehicle in Subic Bay. On March 10, 2021, 55 recruits passed the training course for the ARDB, including two women. The two women, Sergeants First Class Azusa Unno and Misaki Hirata, had participated in

315-585: A Chinese newspaper that had previously claimed that Japan was occupying islands off China's coast. Inoue was concerned that if Japan proceeded to erect a landmark stating its claim to the islands, it would make the Qing empire suspicious. Following Inoue's advice, Yamagata Aritomo , the Minister of the Interior, turned down the request to incorporate the islands, insisting that this matter should not be "revealed to

420-711: A Tail Wind ( Chinese : 順風相送 ; pinyin : Shùnfēng Xiāngsòng ) (1403) and Record of the Imperial Envoy's Visit to Ryūkyū ( Chinese : 使琉球錄 ; pinyin : Shǐ Liúqiú Lù ) (1534). Adopted by the Chinese Imperial Map of the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese name for the island group ( Diaoyu ) and the Japanese name for the main island ( Uotsuri ) both mean "fishing". Historically,

525-458: A deal to return Okinawa Prefecture to Japan in a conversation with his national security adviser Henry Kissinger . Kissinger also told Nixon that "these [Senkaku] islands stayed with Okinawa" when Japan returned Taiwan to China after the end of World War II in 1945. The Nixon Administration removed the Senkakus from its inclusion in the concept of Japanese "residual sovereignty" in presenting

630-542: A defense of the islands by Japan would require the United States to come to Japan's aid. In September 2012, the Japanese government purchased three of the disputed islands from their private owner, prompting large-scale protests in China and Taiwan. Although Japan viewed its move as an attempt to defeat Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara 's more provocative attempt to buy the islands to develop infrastructure on them,

735-460: A general inclination of a dip of less than 20 degrees towards the North. These strata are intruded by sheets of Mio- Pliocene porphyritic hornblende diorite , and are fringed by recent coral outcrops and surface talus deposits . Kuba and Taisho are volcanic in origin, with Kuba comprising " pyroxene andesite , lava, volcanic bombs , pumice , limestone, and other rocky material" and Taisho

840-679: A lighthouse on Uotsuri Island. In 2005, a Japanese fisherman who owned a lighthouse at Uotsuri Island expressed his intention to relinquish the ownership of the lighthouse, and the lighthouse became a national property pursuant to the provisions of the Civil Code of Japan. Since then, the Japan Coast Guard has maintained and managed the Uotsuri lighthouse. From 2002 to 2012, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications paid

945-578: A part of Chinese territory since at least 1534. China acknowledges that Japan took control of the islands in 1894–1895 during the first Sino-Japanese War , through the signature of the Treaty of Shimonoseki . China asserts that the Potsdam Declaration required that Japan relinquish control of all islands except for "the islands of Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū, Shikoku and such minor islands as we determine", and China states that this means control of

1050-596: A period and that the sovereignty would then return to Japan." In March 1962, President John F. Kennedy stated in an Executive Order for the Ryukyus, "I recognize the Ryukyus to be a part of the Japanese homeland and look forward to the day when the security interests of the Free World will permit their restoration to full Japanese sovereignty." Since there was no U.S. action to separate the Senkaku Islands from

1155-656: A plan to respond to this threat as outlined in the Defense Programs and Budget of Japan. Thus Japan prepared an amphibious force with the necessary know-how, acquired amphibious and other vehicles for such warfare. Prior to this, training was conducted with the U.S. Marine Corps such as "Iron Fist" and the integrated exercise "Dawn Blitz" in which the JSDF participated. In the Rim of the Pacific Exercise of 2014,

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1260-425: A provocative incident. The Senkaku Islands are important nesting sites for seabirds, and are one of two remaining nesting sites in the world for the short-tailed albatross , alongside Tori-shima, Izu Islands . The islands are referred to as the Senkaku Islands ( 尖 閣 諸 島 , Senkaku-shotō , variants: 尖閣群島 Senkaku-guntō and 尖閣列島 Senkaku-rettō ) in Japanese. In mainland China, they are known as

1365-456: A website of its own to support its claims. In 2016, Chinese fishing, Coast Guard and other vessels were entering the territorial waters around the islands almost daily and in August 2016 the Japanese foreign minister Fumio Kishida reportedly told China's foreign minister Wang Yi "that the activity represented an escalation of tensions" according to Japanese sources. It was the first meeting of

1470-488: Is a disagreement between the Japanese, PRC and ROC governments as to whether the islands are implied to be part of the "islands appertaining or belonging to said island of Formosa" in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Mainland China and Taiwan both dispute the Japanese claim by citing Yamagata Aritomo 's reasons and decisions to turn down the request to incorporate the islands in 1885. Both China and Taiwan asserted sovereignty over

1575-727: Is a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan , the Diaoyu Islands in China , and Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan . Aside from a 1945 to 1972 period of administration by the United States as part of the Ryukyu Islands , the archipelago has been controlled by Japan since 1895. The territory is close to key shipping lanes and rich fishing grounds , and there may be oil reserves in

1680-564: Is also claimed that Japanese references to these islands did not appear in governmental documents before 1884. The China and Taiwan governments claim that during negotiations with China over the Ryukyu Islands after the First Sino-Japanese War, the islands were not mentioned at all in a partition plan suggested by US ex-President Ulysses S. Grant . The lease of the islands in 1896 and subsequent purchase in 1930 by

1785-462: Is involved in several disputes with neighboring countries, it is vital to raise public awareness of the country's due territory." Although Chinese authorities did not assert claims to the islands while they were under US administration, formal claims were announced in 1971 when the US was preparing to end its administration. A 1968 academic survey undertaken by United Nations Economic Council for Asia and

1890-399: Is occasionally still used when neutrality among the competing national claims is desirable. In Okinawan (northern Ryukyu), the islands are known as ʔiyukubajima ( 魚蒲葵島 ) , while their Yaeyama (southern Ryukyu) name is iigunkubajima . Chinese records of these islands date back to as early as the 15th century when they were referred as Diaoyu in books such as Voyage with

1995-560: Is thought to be consist of "andesite, tuff breccia , and tuffaceous sandstone". Permission for collecting herbs on three of the islands was recorded in an Imperial Chinese edict of 1893. Several floral surveys have been conducted on the Senkaku islands, with a 1980 survey finding that Uotsuri had 339 species of plants. These ecological communities varied based on altitude, with the communities being divided into windswept mountaintop vegetation with Podocarpus macrophyllus trees, with

2100-895: The Argonaut . William Robert Broughton sailed past them in November 1797 during his voyage of discovery to the North Pacific in HMS Providence , and referred to Diaoyu Island/Uotsuri Island as "Peaks Island". Reference was made to the islands in Edward Belcher 's 1848 account of the voyages of HMS Sammarang . Captain Belcher remarked that "the names assigned in this region have been too hastily admitted." Belcher reported anchoring off Pinnacle Island in March 1845. In

2205-622: The Diaoyu Islands ( Chinese : 钓鱼 岛 ; pinyin : Diàoyúdǎo ) or more fully "Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands" ( Chinese : 钓鱼 岛 及 其 附属 岛屿 ; pinyin : Diàoyúdǎo jí qí fùshǔ dǎoyǔ ), while in Taiwan they are called the Diaoyutai Islands or Tiaoyutai Islands ( Chinese : 釣魚臺 列嶼 ; pinyin : Diàoyútái liè yǔ ). In Western sources, the historical English name Pinnacle Islands

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2310-665: The East China Sea between Japan, China, and Taiwan . The archipelago contains five uninhabited islands and three barren rocks, ranging in size from 800 m to 4.32 km . Following the Meiji Restoration , the Japanese government formally annexed what was known as the Ryukyu Kingdom as Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. The Senkaku Islands, which lay between the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Qing empire , became

2415-424: The East China Sea , administered by Japan . The islands are located northeast of Taiwan , east of China , west of Okinawa Island , and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands . The islands are the focus of a territorial dispute between Japan and China and between Japan and Taiwan. China claims the discovery and ownership of the islands from the 14th century, while Japan maintained ownership of

2520-715: The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force participated for the first time with amphibious warfare training between the U.S. Marine Corps and the GSDF for multilateral exercises. In Japan, joint exercises are also conducted by inviting the U.S. Marine Corps at JGSDF Camp Soumagahara (Gunma Prefecture) and training with the dispatch of GSDF members to the U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa Prefecture . In 2016, 300 WAIR soldiers were sent to Camp Pendleton for marine training. They were also trained to prepare for

2625-473: The Ming dynasty 's (16th-century) sea-defense frontier. One of the islands, Chihweiyu, marked the boundary of the Ryukyu Islands. This is viewed by China and Taiwan as meaning that these islands did not belong to the Ryukyu Islands. The First Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1894 and after the Qing dynasty of China lost the war, both countries signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki on 17 April 1895. In Article 2(b)

2730-688: The Pescadores to Japan after the Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese government argues that the islands were not ceded by this treaty. In 1884, issues relating to the islands had been officially discussed by the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Inoue Kaoru and the Minister of the Interior Yamagata Aritomo before incorporating them in 1895. shortly before Japan's victory in the Sino-Japanese War. It

2835-492: The Qing dynasty along with Taiwan . The earliest written record of Diaoyutai dates back to 1403 in a Chinese book Voyage with the Tail Wind ( zh:順風相送 ), which recorded the names of the islands that voyagers had passed on a trip from Fujian to the Ryukyu Kingdom . By 1534, all the major islets of the island group were identified and named in the book Record of the Imperial Envoy's Visit to Ryukyu (使琉球錄). and were

2940-477: The Treaty stated that "the island of Formosa , together with all islands appertaining or belonging to the said island of Formosa" should be ceded to Japan. Although the Treaty did not specifically name every ceded island, the PRC and ROC argue that Japan did not include the islands as part of Okinawa Prefecture prior to 1894, and that the eventual inclusion occurred only as a consequence of China's cession of Taiwan and

3045-415: The brown booby . Mikinosuke also noted the large number of chickens and feral cats on the island, with dozens of cats descending on the seabirds at night. Kitakojima and Minamikojima are one of only two significant breeding places of the rare short-tailed albatross ( Phoebastria albatrus ). The islands have been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International . Uotsuri-shima,

3150-582: The 1870s and 1880s, the English name Pinnacle Islands was used by the British navy for the rocks adjacent to the largest island Uotsuri-shima / Diaoyu Dao (then called 和平嶼 ; hô-pîng-sū ; 'Peace Island in Hokkien '); Kuba-shima / Huangwei Yu (then called Ti-a-usu ); and Taishō-tō / Chiwei Yu . A Japanese navy record issued in 1886 first started to identify the islets using equivalents of

3255-574: The 1953 People's Daily, Jin Canrong , a professor at Renmin University of China thinks that the article, which is anonymous, implies that Ryukyu Islands should be a sovereign state, also independent from Japan. Other Chinese commentators, including a government research institution run by a retired People's Armed Police general, extend the Chinese claim to the entire Ryukyu chain, including Okinawa . In June 2013, The New York Times described

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3360-664: The 1970s, Koga Tatsushirō's son Zenji Koga and Zenji's wife Hanako sold four islets to the Kurihara family of Saitama Prefecture. Kunioki Kurihara owned Uotsuri, Kita-Kojima, and Minami-Kojima. Kunioki's sister owned Kuba. The islands came under US government occupation in 1945 after the surrender of Japan ended World War II. In 1969, the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) identified potential oil and gas reserves in

3465-407: The 1970s, neither the China nor Taiwan government made any official statements claiming sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands or disputing the sovereignty claims of other countries over it. Several maps, newspaper articles, and government documents from both countries after 1945 refer to the islands by their Japanese name, and some even explicitly recognize their status as Japanese territory. It was only

3570-534: The 1970s. The PRC and the ROC argue that documentary evidence prior to the First Sino-Japanese War indicates Chinese possession and that the territory is accordingly a Japanese seizure that should be returned as the rest of Imperial Japan 's conquests were returned in 1945. The islands are included within the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan , meaning that

3675-550: The ARDB's base at Camp Ainoura. The aviation element is to be based in Kyushu starting in 2025 and is to consist of 17 V-22 aircraft and about 50 Black Hawk and Apache Longbow helicopters. The ARDB is composed of the following: ARDB forces are equipped with light infantry weapons, including: The ARDB is also equipped with US and Japanese-made military vehicles and aircraft such as: Senkaku Islands dispute The Senkaku Islands dispute , or Diaoyu Islands dispute ,

3780-537: The ARDB's establishment. On March 27, 2018, groundwork for the creation of the ARDB was completed. On April 7, 2018, Japan activated its first marine unit since World War II . The marines of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF)'s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, gathered at a ceremony activating the brigade at JGSDF's Camp Ainoura in Sasebo. The Brigade is trained to counter invaders from occupying Japanese islands along

3885-434: The Chinese and English terms employed by the British. The name "Senkaku Retto" is not found in any Japanese historical document before 1900 (the term "Senkaku Gunto" began being used in the late 19th century), and first appeared in print in a geography journal published in 1900. It was derived from a translation of the English name Pinnacle Islands into a Sinicized Japanese term "Sento Shoto" (as opposed to "Senkaku Retto", i.e.,

3990-603: The Chinese campaign "to question Japanese rule of [Okinawa and the Ryukyu] islands" as "semiofficial", noting that "almost all the voices in China pressing the Okinawa issue are affiliated in some way with the government." The stance given by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that the Senkaku Islands are clearly an inherent territory of Japan in light of historical facts and based upon international law, and

4095-594: The Chinese had used the uninhabited islands as navigational markers in making the voyage to the Ryukyu Kingdom upon commencement of diplomatic missions to the kingdom, "resetting the compass at a particular isle in order to reach the next one". The first published description of the islands in Europe appears in a book imported by Isaac Titsingh in 1796. His small library of Japanese books included Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu ( 三國通覧圖說 , An Illustrated Description of Three Countries ) by Hayashi Shihei . This text, which

4200-529: The Chinese side viewed the purchase as an effort by Japan to bring the islands under Japanese sovereignty. On 23 November 2013, the PRC set up the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone which includes the Senkaku Islands, and announced that it would require all aircraft entering the zone to file a flight plan and submit radio frequency or transponder information. The Senkaku Islands are located in

4305-523: The Far East found possible oil reserves in the area, which many believe explains the emergence of Chinese claims, a suggestion confirmed by statements made on the diplomatic records of the Japan-China Summit Meeting by Premier Zhou Enlai in 1972. However, supporters of China's claim that the sovereignty dispute is a legacy of Japanese imperialism and that China's failure to secure the territory following Japan's military defeat in 1945

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4410-459: The Foreign and Transport ministries, officials from the now-defunct Okinawa Development Agency, and Hiroyuki Kurihara, visited the islands and camped on Uotsuri for about four weeks. The delegation surveyed the local ecosystem, finding moles and sheep, studied the local marine life, and examined whether the islands would support human habitation. In 1988, a Japanese political group reconstructed

4515-606: The Ishigaki administration to develop the islands. As a result of the dispute, the public is largely barred from approaching the uninhabited islands, which are about a seven-hour boat ride from Ishigaki. Vessels from the Japan Coast Guard pursue Chinese ships crossing the maritime boundary in what one visiting journalist described in 2012 as "an almost cold war -style game of cat-and-mouse", and fishing and other civilian boats are prevented from getting too close to avoid

4620-599: The Japanese Cabinet released names of 39 uninhabited islands. These minor features in the East China Sea are located approximately 120 nautical miles northeast of Taiwan, 200 nautical miles east of the Chinese mainland and 200 nautical miles southwest of the Japanese island of Okinawa. According to one visitor, Uotsuri-shima, the largest of the islands, consists of a pair of rocky gray mountains with steep, boulder-strewn slopes rising almost straight from

4725-461: The Koga family were merely domestic arrangements made by the Japanese government which had no bearing on the legal status of the islands. According to China, Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek failed to protest American decisions with regard to the disposition of the islands because he depended on the US for support. In April 2012, Taiwan declined an invitation from China to work together to resolve

4830-440: The Kurihara family for ¥2.05 billion. China's Foreign Ministry objected saying Beijing would not "sit back and watch its territorial sovereignty violated." In 2014, Japan constructed a lighthouse and wharf featuring Japanese flag insignia on the islets. The island group are known to consist of five uninhabited islets and three barren rocks. China has identified and named as many as 71 islets that belong to this group after

4935-629: The Kurihara family ¥25 million a year to rent Uotsuri, Minami-Kojima and Kita-Kojima. Japan's Ministry of Defense rents Kuba island for an undisclosed amount. Kuba is used by the U.S. military as a practice aircraft bombing range. Japan's central government completely owns Taisho island. The reaction of the Kan Cabinet to the September 2010 Senkaku boat collision incident was seen by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as "a very foolish move" and "frighteningly naive". On December 17, 2010,

5040-451: The Ming dynasty about 600 years ago and underlines Japan's position that they are an inherent part of this country's territory. An expert in international law, says "We know the Ming had effective control only of the coastal area from other historical sources. What is remarkable about this finding is that a Chinese official made a clear statement along these lines to a Japanese envoy. This proves

5145-461: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC on 15 May 1950 referred to the Senkaku Islands by the Japanese names " Senkaku shotō " and " Sentō Shosho " and indicated Chinese recognition of the islands as part of the Ryukyu Islands. The 10-page document titled " Draft outline on issues and arguments on parts concerning territories in the peace treaty with Japan " says the Ryukyus "consist of three parts—northern, central, and southern. The central part comprises

5250-630: The Nixon visit to China. In April 1978, Japan asked the United States to side with the Japanese view, but the United States declining because "it could become embroiled in a Sino-Japanese territorial dispute." In June 1978, the United States Navy stopped using the Sekibi-Sho firing range off the coast of Taisho Island to avoid any potential confrontation between China and Japan, according to declassified government documents. The next year

5355-629: The Okinawa Islands, whereas the southern part comprises the Miyako Islands and the Yaeyama Islands (Sentō Shosho)." The parentheses appear in the original. It also says "It should be studied whether the Senkaku Islands should be incorporated into Taiwan due to an extremely close distance," suggesting that the Chinese government did not consider the islands to be part of Taiwan. The passages leave no doubt that Beijing regarded

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5460-518: The Okinawa Reversion Treaty to the U.S. Senate for ratification. On 20 October 1971, U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers sent a letter to U.S Congress . In his letter, Acting Assistant Legal Adviser Robert Starr stated "The United States believes that a return of administrative rights over those islands to Japan, from which the rights were received, can in no way prejudice any underlying claims. The United States cannot add to

5565-771: The Ryukyu Islands against the U.S. occupation " wrote "The Ryukyu Islands lie scattered on the sea between the Northeast of Taiwan of China and the Southwest of Kyushu, Japan. They consist of 7 groups of islands; the Senkaku Islands, the Sakishima Islands, the Daitō Islands, the Okinawa Islands, the Oshima Islands, the Tokara Islands and the Ōsumi Islands." A Chinese diplomatic draft written by

5670-434: The Ryukyu Islands that included the Senkaku Islands. Moreover, during U.S. administration of the islands, the U.S. Navy built firing ranges on them and paid annual rent of $ 11,000 to Jinji Koga, son of the first Japanese settler of the islands. During the San Francisco Peace Treaty discussions, John Foster Dulles , chief U.S. delegate to the peace conference, set forth the concept that Japan had "residual sovereignty" over

5775-469: The Ryukyu Islands. According to an official analysis prepared by the U.S. Army, "residual Sovereignty" meant that "the United States will not transfer its sovereign powers over the Ryukyu Islands to any nation other than Japan." In June 1957, President Eisenhower confirmed this at the U.S.-Japan summit meeting, telling Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi that "residual sovereignty" over the Ryukyus meant that "the United States would exercise its rights for

5880-426: The Ryukyu Kingdom, etc. The Japanese central government incorporated the islands into Okinawa Prefecture in January 1895 while still fighting China in the First Sino-Japanese War . Around 1900, Japanese entrepreneur Koga Tatsushirō ( 古賀 辰四郎 ) constructed a bonito fish processing plant on the islands, employing over 200 workers. The business failed around 1940 and the islands have remained deserted ever since. In

5985-400: The Ryukyu, these applications of "residual sovereignty" appeared to include the Senkaku Islands. In the first quarter of 1971 U.S. officials became aware of and successfully opposed a Japanese proposal to set up a weather station on the islands. In May 1971, a report compiled by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said "[t]he Japanese claim to sovereignty over the Senkakus is strong, and

6090-435: The Senkaku Islands are under the valid control of Japan. They also state "there exists no issue of territorial sovereignty to be resolved concerning the Senkaku Islands." The following points are given: After the Meiji Restoration , the Japanese government surveyed the islands in 1885, which found that the islands were terra nullius and that there was no evidence to suggest that they had ever been under Chinese control. At

6195-454: The Senkaku Islands are under the valid control of Japan. They also state "there exists no issue of territorial sovereignty to be resolved concerning the Senkaku Islands." The following points are given: In 2012 the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs created a website in support of its claims; in late 2014 the National Marine Data and Information Service, a department under the State Oceanic Administration of People's Republic of China created

6300-543: The Senkaku Islands as part of the Ryukyu Islands as of 1950. There are many official maps published by both Chinas after 1945 that support they did not recognize their sovereignty over the islands and they recognized the islands as Japanese territory. The PRC has been cracking down on "erroneous" maps in both print and digital forms, and government agencies have handled 1,800 cases involving map irregularities and confiscated 750,000 maps since 2005. The National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation said "as China

6405-457: The Senkaku Islands were not controlled by the Ming." After ratifying UNCLOS in June 1996, Japan began asserting an exclusive economic zone around the islands in July 1996. In 2005, Japan passed its first parliamentary resolution on the islands and asserted its claim of territorial sovereignty over them. During a private visit 9 years after stepping down from office, former President of Republic of China , Lee Teng-hui , once said that

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6510-422: The Sino-Japanese boundary for the first time. In 1885, the Japanese Governor of Okinawa Prefecture, Nishimura Sutezo , petitioned the Meiji government, asking that it take formal control of the islands. However, Inoue Kaoru , the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, commented that the islands lay near to the border area with the Qing empire and that they had been given Chinese names. He also cited an article in

6615-452: The Trough serves as the boundary between them, and that the Trough should not be ignored .... ...the trough is just an incidental depression in a continuous continental margin between the two countries ... [and] the trough should be ignored .... The stance given by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that the Senkaku Islands are clearly an inherent territory of Japan, in light of historical facts and based upon international law, and

6720-409: The area, including tunas, sharks, marlins , critically endangered hawksbill sea turtles , dolphins, pilot whales , sperm whales , and humpback whales . Territorial sovereignty over the islands and the maritime boundaries around them are disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, and Japan. The People's Republic and Republic of China claim that the islands have been

6825-443: The area. According to Lee Seokwoo , China started taking up the question of sovereignty over the islands in the latter half of 1970 when evidence relating to the existence of oil reserves surfaced. Taiwan also claims the islands. Japan argues that it surveyed the islands in the late 19th century and found them to be terra nullius (Latin: land belonging to no one); subsequently, China acquiesced to Japanese sovereignty until

6930-428: The burden of proof of ownership would seem to fall on the Chinese". The CIA also said in related documents that any dispute between Japan, China, and Taiwan over the islands would not have arisen, had it not been for the discovery around 1968 of potential oil reserves on the nearby continental shelf. On 7 June 1971, President Richard M. Nixon confirmed Japan's "residual sovereignty" over the Senkaku Islands just before

7035-450: The case of Taiwan) and December 1971 (in the case of China), as claimed by Japan. This is the more so that historical evidence relating to territorial disputes does not have its own value as history alone, but should be evaluated within the framework of international law on territorial acquisition and loss. " "I didn't care about the Senkaku Islands, but on the oil question, historians made it an issue." Zhou Enlai , Prior to

7140-445: The case of Taiwan, or December 1971 in the case of China, when Japan made known its official standpoint with the signing of the Okinawa Reversion Treaty, as claimed by Japan." He concluded " ... Accordingly, and having regard to the various factual and legal issues explored above, one is inclined to conclude that Japan has a stronger claim to the disputed islands. In other words, the critical date in this case should be February 1971 (in

7245-504: The city of Ishigaki designated January 14 as "Pioneering Day" to commemorate Japan's 1895 incorporation of the Senkaku Islands. China condemned Ishigaki's actions. In May 2012, both the Tokyo Metropolitan and Japanese central governments announced plans to negotiate purchase of Uotsuri, Kita-Kojima, and Minami-Kojima from the Kurihara family, and on September 11, 2012, the Japanese government nationalized its control over Minami-kojima, Kita-kojima, and Uotsuri islands by purchasing them from

7350-429: The colder months, while hundreds of thousands of sooty tern and brown noddy would descend on Kitakojima and Minamikojima in the warmer months. He also described the air of Uotsuri as swarming with bluebottle flies and mosquitoes . In the same year, an account by Miyajima Mikinosuke  [ ja ] , surveying Kuba Island, noted the presence of whimbrel , Von Schrenck's bittern , the streaked shearwater , and

7455-480: The crater, which includes a variety of flora including Ceodes umbellifera , Macaranga tanarius , Ficus benjamina , Diospyros maritima , Trema orientalis , Machilus thunbergii , and Livistona subglobosa, with forest floor plants being sparse. In an account by Hisashi Kuroiwa  [ ja ] in 1900, it was noted the large number of birds present on the islands, tens of thousands of short-tailed and black-footed albatross would flock on Uotsuri-shima, in

7560-583: The early 1970s that Chinese documents began to name them collectively as the Diaoyu Islands and as Chinese territory. The People's Daily , the organ of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), referred to the Senkaku Islands by the Japanese name " Senkaku Shotō " and described the islands were a part of (then) U.S.-occupied Ryukyu Islands . The article published on 8 January 1953 titled " Battle of people in

7665-847: The edge of the East China Sea that Tokyo considers vulnerable to attack. 150 ARDB soldiers were deployed for the first time in an overseas training exercise with American and Filipino marines in Operation Kamandag in October 2018. This was the first time that Japanese armored vehicles were on foreign soil since WW2. The marine unit also dispatched 300 soldiers to participate in Exercise Talisman Saber in July 2019, training in amphibious landings at Queensland, Australia along with Australian soldiers and American and British marines. The ARDB suffered its first casualty when

7770-618: The event of armed attacks. In May 2013, the U.S. Department of Defense criticized the Chinese territorial claim in a report titled "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2013." Senkaku Islands The Senkaku Islands , also known as the Pinnacle Islands or the Diaoyu Islands in China and as the Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan , are a group of uninhabited islands in

7875-401: The federal government denied a military request to resume operations in the Senkakus. Top US government officials have declared in 2004, 2010, and September 2012 that as Japan maintains effective administrative control on the islands, the islands fall under the 1960 Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan which requires the US to assist Japan in defending

7980-554: The geographical limits of the island of Formosa and the islands appertaining or belonging to Formosa ceded to Japan by the Qing Dynasty of China, nothing in the negotiation history (or otherwise) supports the interpretation that the Senkaku Islands are included in the island of Formosa and the islands appertaining or belonging to it in Article 2b of the Treaty," and had "incorporated the Senkaku Islands into Okinawa Prefecture before

8085-438: The interested parties is dependent upon the determination of the applicable critical date, which is defined as 'the date by reference to which a territorial dispute must be deemed to have crystallized,' since the outcome of this dispute will be fundamentally different depending on whether the critical date is January 1895, as claimed by Chinese side, when Japan incorporated Senkaku Islands into Japanese territory, or February 1971 in

8190-504: The islands are part of Okinawa. During the 2012 China anti-Japanese demonstrations , on 13 September 2012, Lee remarked, "The Senkaku Islands , no matter whether in the past, for now or in the future, certainly belong to Japan." In 2002, he also stated, "The Senkaku Islands are the territory of Japan." On 25 December 1953, U.S. Civil Administration of the Ryukyus Proclamation 27 (USCAR 27) set geographical boundaries of

8295-573: The islands from 1895 until its surrender at the end of World War II . The United States administered the islands as part of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands from 1945 until 1972, when the islands returned to Japanese control under the Okinawa Reversion Agreement between the United States and Japan. The discovery of potential undersea oil reserves in 1968 in the area

8400-510: The islands if anyone, including China, attacks or attempts to occupy or control them. On 29 November 2012, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved an amendment to National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 stating the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands fall under the scope of a Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan and that the U.S. would defend Japan in

8505-605: The islands should pass to Republic of China, which was part of China at the time of the first Sino-Japanese War as well as of the San Francisco Peace Treaty. Both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) respectively separately claim sovereignty based on arguments that include the following points: Japan does not accept that there is a dispute, asserting that the islands are an integral part of Japan. Japan has rejected claims that

8610-673: The islands were under China's control prior to 1895, and that these islands were contemplated by the Potsdam Declaration or affected by the San Francisco Peace Treaty. The existence of the back-arc basin complicates descriptive issues. According to Professor Ji Guoxing of the Asia-Pacific Department at Shanghai Institute for International Studies , ...the Okinawa Trough proves that the continental shelves of China and Japan are not connected, that

8715-430: The islands, including Gekko hokouensis (Uotsuri, Minami) Eumeces elegans (Uotsuri, Minami), an indeterminate species of Scincella (Uotsuri) Ramphotyphlops braminus (Uotsuri) Elaphe carinata (Uotsuri) and Dinodon rufozonatus (Uotsuri). Rich marine biodiversity adjacent to the islands has been recognized but poorly studied. Seemingly, varieties of larger fish and animals inhabit or migrate through

8820-514: The islands. Japan points out that the islands were placed under the administration of the United States of America as part of the Ryukyu Islands , in accordance with Article III of the said treaty and China expressed no objection to the status of the Islands being under the administration of the United States under Article III of the San Francisco Peace Treaty. The Japanese government points out that "the Treaty of Shimonoseki does not clearly define

8925-645: The largest island, has a number of endemic species such as the Senkaku mole ( Mogera uchidai ) and Okinawa-kuro-oo-ari ant. Due to the introduction of domestic goats to the island in 1978, the Senkaku mole is now an endangered species. The striped field mouse ( Apodemus agrarius ) has also been noted to be present on Uotsuri. Surveys from 1900 to 1953 and noted the presence of the Asian house shrew , black rats and fruit bats but these were not noted in more recent surveys. Six species of reptile have been recorded from

9030-539: The legal rights Japan possessed before it transferred administration of the islands to us, nor can the United States, by giving back what it received, diminish the rights of other claimants   ... The United States has made no claim to the Senkaku Islands and considers that any conflicting claims to the islands are a matter for resolution by the parties concerned." Several experts have attributed this Nixon Administration policy shift as having been influenced by White House overtures to China during 1971–1972, culminating in

9135-522: The mainland during the Last Glacial Period . Uotsuri, Kitakojima, Minamikojima and surrounding islets are sedimentary in origin, predominantly consisting of probably Miocene aged sandstone and sandstone- conglomerate , with subordinate conglomerate, coal seams up to 10 centimetres thick, and rare siltstone beds. The sedimentary strata have around 300 metres of exposed thickness at Uotsuri, and have SW-NE, EW and NW-SE strikes , with

9240-669: The news media". On 14 January 1895, during the First Sino-Japanese War , Japan incorporated the islands under the administration of Okinawa, stating that it had conducted surveys since 1884 and that the islands were terra nullius , with there being no evidence to suggest that they had been under the Qing empire's control. After China lost the war, both countries signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki in April 1895 that stipulated, among other things, that China would cede to Japan "the island of Formosa together with all islands appertaining or belonging to said island of Formosa (Taiwan)", but yet

9345-476: The official history book of the Ming Dynasty compiled during the Qing Dynasty, called the History of Ming (明史), describes Taiwan in its "Biographies of Foreign Countries" (外国列传) section. Thus, China did not control the Senkaku Islands or Taiwan during the Ming Dynasty. A record in August 1617 of Ming Shilu , the annals of Ming dynasty emperors, shows that China did not control the Senkaku Islands. According to

9450-520: The record, the head of the Chinese coast guard mentioned the names of islands, including one on the eastern edge of the Dongyin, Lienchiang , about 40 kilometers off the Chinese mainland, that was controlled by the Ming and said the ocean beyond the islands was free for China and any other nation to navigate. The Senkaku Islands are about 330 kilometers from the Chinese coast. This contradicts Beijing's claim that China have controlled Senkaku Islands since

9555-451: The term used by the Japanese today), which has the same meaning. The collective use of the name "Diaoyutai" to denote the entire group began with the advent of the controversy in the 1970s. As the uninhabited islets were historically used as maritime navigational markers, they were never subjected to administrative control other than the recording of the geographical positions on maps, descriptions in official records of Chinese missions to

9660-502: The territorial dispute with Japan. Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Lai Shin-yuan said, "The ROC and Mainland China will not deal with the Tiaoyutai Islands disputes together. Mainland China said the two sides should solve these issues together, but that is not the approach we are taking because [Taiwan and Mainland China] already have sovereignty disputes. We insist on our sovereignty." Regarding Japan's argument about

9765-418: The territory. The Japanese central government, however, has prohibited Ishigaki from surveying or developing the islands. In 1978, a Japanese political group constructed the first lighthouse on Uotsuri island and grazed two goats. Goats have since proliferated and affected the island's vegetation. In 1979 an official delegation from the Japanese government composed of 50 academics, government officials from

9870-524: The time of this survey, however, Yamagata Aritomo , the minister of interior of the Meiji government, took a cautious approach and put off the request to incorporate the islands. The Government of Japan made a Cabinet Decision on 14 January 1895, to erect markers on the islands to formally incorporate the Senkaku Islands into the territory of Japan through the surveys conducted by the Government of Japan, it

9975-668: The top diplomats since the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling against China's South China Sea claims and was coincident with a three-party meeting (including South Korea ) relative to a North Korean submarine-launched missile in the Sea of Japan . On 22 June 2020, the Ishigaki City Council voted to change the name of the area containing the Senkaku Islands from "Tonoshiro" to "Tonoshiro Senkaku". Republic of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded that

10080-614: The treaty does not clearly define the geographical limits of the island of Formosa and the islands appertaining or belonging to Formosa ceded to Japan. The treaty was superseded by the Treaty of San Francisco , which was signed between Japan and part of the Allied Powers in 1951 after Japan lost the Second World War . In the treaty of San Francisco, Japan explicitly relinquished the control of Taiwan/Formosa together with all islands appertaining or belonging to it. There

10185-481: The treaty was signed." In 1972, the United States ended its occupation of Okinawa and the Ryukyu Island chain, which included the Senkaku Islands. Although the United States transferred administration of the islands to Japan as part of Okinawa, it did not take a position on the question of who their sovereign was. Korean academic Lee Seokwoo notes that "The significance of subsequent acts and behaviour of

10290-409: The understory including Liriope muscari and Rhaphiolepis umbellata , inclined high forest including the palms Livistona chinensis and Arenga engleri , lowland windswept shrub forest including Ficus microcarpa and Planchonella obovata , and seashore plants. Minamikojima was much less diverse, and dominated by grasses, while Kitakojima only had sparse plant life. Kuba has a forest near

10395-552: The unit's 16th training session. In March 2024, the 3rd Regiment was formally activated at Camp Takematsu in Nagasaki. Minister of Defense Minoru Kihara presented the regimental flag to commanding officer, Col. Takada. These "regiments" are battalion size units. Inter-operability will be a key component of ARDB operations with the JGSDF planning to establish a significant aviation capability at Saga Airport , sixty kilometers from

10500-430: The vicinity of the Senkaku Islands. In 1971, the Okinawa Reversion Treaty passed the U.S. Senate, returning the islands to Japanese control in 1972. Also in 1972, the Republic of China government and People's Republic of China government officially began to declare ownership of the islands. Since 1972, when the islands reverted to Japanese government control, the government of Ishigaki has been given civic authority over

10605-464: The water's edge. Other, nearby islands were described as large rocks covered by low vegetation. In ascending order of distances, the island cluster is located: The depth of the surrounding waters of the continental shelf is approximately 100–150 metres (330–490 ft) except for the Okinawa Trough on the south. The shelf is shallow enough that the western islands were likely connected to

10710-484: Was a catalyst for further interest in the disputed islands. Despite the diplomatic stalemate between China and Taiwan, both governments agree that the islands are part of Taiwan as part of Toucheng Township in Yilan County . Japan administers and controls the Senkaku islands as part of the city of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture . It does not acknowledge the claims of China nor Taiwan, but it has not allowed

10815-464: Was confirmed that the Senkaku Islands had been not only uninhabited but also showed no trace of having been under the control of the Qing Dynasty of China. Japan claims that neither China nor Ryukyu had recognized sovereignty over the uninhabited islands. Therefore, they claim that Chinese documents only prove that Kumejima, the first inhabited island reached by the Chinese, belonged to Okinawa. Kentaro Serita (芹田 健太郎) of Kobe University points out that

10920-598: Was due to the complexities of the Chinese Civil War in which the Kuomintang (KMT) were forced off the mainland to Taiwan in 1949 by the Chinese Communist Party. Both China and Taiwan respectively separately claim sovereignty based on arguments that include the following points: According to Chinese claims, the islands were known to China since at least 1372, had been repeatedly referred to as part of Chinese territory since 1534, and were later controlled by

11025-660: Was published in Japan in 1785, described the Ryūkyū Kingdom . Hayashi followed convention in giving the islands their Chinese names in his map in the text, where he coloured them in the same pink as China. In 1832, the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland supported the posthumous abridged publication of Titsingh's French translation. The name, "Pinnacle Isles" was first used by James Colnett , who charted them during his 1789–1791 voyage in

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