What Is China’s Strategy In The Senkaku Islands?

Alessio Patalano, War On The Rocks: What Is China’s Strategy in the Senkaku Islands?

Chinese operational behavior in the waters around the small group of islands under Japanese administrative control known as Senkaku, and claimed by Beijing under the name Diaoyu, has entered a new, dangerous phase. In an unprecedented move, Chinese coast guard cutters in early July started to operate inside the islands’ territorial waters in a fashion that would suggest Beijing is there to exercise law-enforcement powers. It appears China no longer seeks to just showcase its “presence” in the waters around the islands. It is now starting to actively challenge Japanese control.

For Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s successor, reviewing Tokyo’s approach to the management of this contest with Beijing will be a strategic priority. The stakes are high, as a war game recently indicated that escalatory behavior around the Senkaku islands takes the risk of war between Asia’s two largest economies, and America’s most consequential ally in the Indo-Pacific, one step closer.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I f there is one thing that I know about the Chinese, they are not going to relinquish their territorial claims. The next Japanese Prime Minister is expected to be Yoshihide Suga .... The unlikely rise of Yoshihide Suga, the son of a farmer who is expected to become Japan's next Prime Minister (CNN). Japan's relations with China and how to resolve these territorial disputes is going to be one of his top prioritiies.