LOL, Japan says "charge it!", Chicoms all upset-like

[Josquius]

It really is ridiculous the way China gets away with its screaming "MINE!" and claiming every random rock near itself.
In this case it is especially suspect that they started their moaning shortly after it was discovered that there may be oil reserves in the area.
Props to Japan for taking the high road and not getting as ridiculous about it as the Koreans have with the liancourts....but then unlike Korea the Japanese aren't dealing with someone as reasonable as the Japanese....

[11B4V]

Did the Chinamen ever get the Taiwan issue settled?

[katmai]

If China does decide to enforce claims militarily, the US will be treaty-bound to intervene on Japan's behalf.

So WWIII will start over some uninhabited Islands?  Well I suppose that is as good of a reason as a dead Habsburg.

Habsy is dead!?!

[Eddie Teach]

He meant Habbaku.

[Jacob]

It really is ridiculous the way China gets away with its screaming "MINE!" and claiming every random rock near itself.
In this case it is especially suspect that they started their moaning shortly after it was discovered that there may be oil reserves in the area.
Props to Japan for taking the high road and not getting as ridiculous about it as the Koreans have with the liancourts....but then unlike Korea the Japanese aren't dealing with someone as reasonable as the Japanese....

Well in this case, as I understand it, the issue wasn't causing any tension - being basically ignored - until the mayor of Tokyo (a right wing nationalist) decided to publicly collect money to "buy" the island from whom he said was the private owner, saying that would settle the ownership of the island as being clearly Japanese; then the federal government of Japan stepped in and decided that they would buy the island and proclaim it Japanese.

I'm not sure how that can be construed as taking the high road - but I suppose you're in Japan, so the news are reported differently there. What's the version of events you're hearing?

[Jacob]

Did the Chinamen ever get the Taiwan issue settled?

The Taiwanese have been sending boats to the area as well, to reinforce their claim to the islands against the Japanese if I'm not mistaken.

[Monoriu]

A lot of HK people want to go to the disputed islands to reinforce China's claim.  The HK government (presumably under orders from Beijing) have been using different excuses and bureaucratic red tape to stop them. 

[Josquius]

Well in this case, as I understand it, the issue wasn't causing any tension - being basically ignored - until the mayor of Tokyo (a right wing nationalist) decided to publicly collect money to "buy" the island from whom he said was the private owner, saying that would settle the ownership of the island as being clearly Japanese; then the federal government of Japan stepped in and decided that they would buy the island and proclaim it Japanese.

I'm not sure how that can be construed as taking the high road - but I suppose you're in Japan, so the news are reported differently there. What's the version of events you're hearing?

What started it was the Chinese have been increasingly aggravating about the islands in recent years. IIRC it was the incident with the fishing boat ramming the coast guard ship which really made this a major issue.
That then pushed the nationalist Tokyo leader to propose his plan to develop the islands, talk about that was going on for a long while, it was only quite recently though that the federal government stepped in to buy them, preserve the status quo and leave them fallow so as not to piss off the Chicoms.

Japan is taking the high road in trying to talk about things peacefully, not doing anything with the islands; in fact actively stopping anyone from developing them, not landing soldiers there, not making a big deal of the issue domestically, etc...
Contrast with Korea and the Liancourt Rocks which they've concreted over and hyper developed well beyond what such small rocks rationally deserve and they love making a huge nationalist deal about them being beautiful and inherantly Korean islands. Plus they completely refuse to send the issue to the international court to settle.

And there's no "Buy" about it. The private owner was the private owner. His family have owned them since the 40s iirc. The government has actually been renting them off him for some years

The Taiwanese have been sending boats to the area as well, to reinforce their claim to the islands against the Japanese if I'm not mistaken.

Taiwan though I think is just doing it because it has to. Were their situation one of a normal country I think they'd be willing to talk about it.
The PRC claims the islands as part of Taiwan so Taiwan has to moan about them a little or else the PRCs claim to Taiwan becomes a bit stronger.

[Monoriu]

Personally I am all for international arbitration in cases of uninhabited islands.  Let an impartial expert committee look at the evidence from both sides, make a ruling, and be done with it.  But it is not going to happen.  I am not sure if a genuine "impartial" committee can be set up without political influence or vote-buying.  An even bigger problem is that whichever side currently controls the island won't agree.  S. Korea controls the disputed islands and they won't agree to Japan's proposal to send the case to an international court.  Japan controls the islands in the dispute with China and it won't agree to do the same. 

[jimmy olsen]

Those kinds of commissions worked in the 19th century, pretty sad if people have regressed to the point that they can't work now.

[CountDeMoney]

LOL Has nothing to do with the islands, but funny nonetheless.

China: Romney's rich because of us

Xinhua is not happy with Mitt Romney.

The official Chinese news agency, in an English-language commentary, attacked the GOP presidential nominee for his proposal to label China a currency manipulator.

"If these mud-slinging tactics were to become U.S. government policies, a trade war would be very likely to break out between the world's top two economies, which would be catastrophic enough to both sides and the already groaning global economy," Xinhua's Liu Chang writes. "For generations, China-bashing has been a cancer in U.S. electoral politics, seriously plaguing the relations between the two countries."

The commentary also takes a shot at Romney's wealth, declaring it "rather ironic that a considerable portion of this China-battering politician's wealth was actually obtained by doing business with Chinese companies before he entered politics."

China insists the exchange rate for the yuan is set by market forces, while the Treasury Department has consistently said the yuan is undervalued. A weaker yuan makes Chinese goods cheaper in the United States, contributing to the American trade deficit with China. Labeling China a currency manipulator could potentially lead to trade sanctions against the world's second-largest economy.

Rather than attacking China, Xinhua suggests the United States "[t]o cure its economic ailments, the United States needs to put its own fiscal house back in order, substantially slash its tremendous military expenditure, and optimize its economic structure."

[Josquius]

S. Korea controls the disputed islands and they won't agree to Japan's proposal to send the case to an international court.  Japan controls the islands in the dispute with China and it won't agree to do the same. 

I'm pretty sure Japan would agree with the Senkakus if it came right down to it. They know they're in the right. China however knows its just making a land grab so probally wouldn't. It would also set a prescedent for their even crazier South China sea claims.
Certainly Britain tried many times to get the Falklands issue sorted out by the UN but Argentina refused.

[DontSayBanana]

LOL Has nothing to do with the islands, but funny nonetheless.

China: Romney's rich because of us

Xinhua is not happy with Mitt Romney.

The official Chinese news agency, in an English-language commentary, attacked the GOP presidential nominee for his proposal to label China a currency manipulator.

"If these mud-slinging tactics were to become U.S. government policies, a trade war would be very likely to break out between the world's top two economies, which would be catastrophic enough to both sides and the already groaning global economy," Xinhua's Liu Chang writes. "For generations, China-bashing has been a cancer in U.S. electoral politics, seriously plaguing the relations between the two countries."

The commentary also takes a shot at Romney's wealth, declaring it "rather ironic that a considerable portion of this China-battering politician's wealth was actually obtained by doing business with Chinese companies before he entered politics."

China insists the exchange rate for the yuan is set by market forces, while the Treasury Department has consistently said the yuan is undervalued. A weaker yuan makes Chinese goods cheaper in the United States, contributing to the American trade deficit with China. Labeling China a currency manipulator could potentially lead to trade sanctions against the world's second-largest economy.

Rather than attacking China, Xinhua suggests the United States "[t]o cure its economic ailments, the United States needs to put its own fiscal house back in order, substantially slash its tremendous military expenditure, and optimize its economic structure."

As threadjacks go, that's golden.  Good luck disavowing that one, Mittens.

[garbon]

I bet China would indeed like it if we slashed our military expenditure.

[CountDeMoney]

I bet China would indeed like it if we slashed our military expenditure.

No kidding.  [chicomjedi]THESE ARENT THE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS YOU WANT TO BUILD /chicomjedi]