War between Japan, China over isles called unlikely

A senior adviser to the Taiwanese government on Wednesday downplayed the likelihood that a war will erupt in the festering dispute between Taiwan, China and Japan over a chain of tiny islands in the East China Sea.
“Nobody’s going to war over this few rocks, over these tracts of barren land,” said Stephen S.F. Chen, a former top Taiwanese diplomat in Washington, to editors and reporters at The Washington Times.
China and Taiwan agree that the islands are Chinese, though they differ on exactly what that means, said Mr. Chen, who is a senior adviser to Taiwan’s Beijing-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou.

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Tokyo's Missing Muscle

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara waves the Japanese flag as he inspects Okinotori Island. (Issei Kato / Courtesy Reuters)
Recent rhetoric concerning the East China Sea and the Senkaku Islands, which the Chinese call the Diaoyu Islands, makes it appear that the Japanese government is taking a tougher approach on foreign policy and military affairs. Its decision to purchase the disputed islands in September triggered outrage from China and spawned observations that Japan is veering toward the right.
But this move is not as aggressive as it might seem. In fact, it was designed to be anti-inflammatory -- keeping matters from going from bad to worse. It comes in response to the plans of hawkish Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, who sought to purchase the islands by collecting public donations. Given Ishihara's aggressive nationalistic views, that purchase would have undoubtedly further escalated the dispute. The federal government's purchase, which blocked the efforts of the Tokyo metropolitan government, thus signals a conflict-averse approach.

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U.S., Japan troops consider joint-drill to retake captured island

The United States and Japanese militaries are said to be discussing the idea of a joint-drill that would simulate recapturing a remote island from hostile forces. The exercise would be part of already planned joint maneuvers to begin in November, and Japanese media says they would use an inhabited island in Okinawa Prefecture. It’s not a big stretch of the imagination to guess that such a drill would be preparation for a conflict with China over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.
Sources indicated to Kyodo News that U.S. and Japanese troops would use boats and helicopters to make amphibious and airborne landings in order to retake the island. Although tensions between China and Japan are seen as slightly calmed now, with both governments agreeing to meet for peaceful talks, the last several weeks have seen a near-constant presence of Chinese patrol ships in the waters surrounding the disputed territory.

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Solving the Okinawa Problem

In recent weeks the U.S. Marine Corps has begun to deploy the V-22 Osprey to Okinawa, Japan. The Osprey flies like a propeller plane but can take off and land like a helicopter, providing more speed than the latter but more tactical flexibility than the former. It has also reignited the long-standing debate between Japan and the United States over the future of the Marines' presence on Okinawa. Critics have called the airplane unsafe and demanded its redeployment back to the United States. While flight data do not confirm this specific allegation, policymakers in Tokyo and Washington do need to realize they have an even bigger problem -- and search for a new, less intrusive way of basing Marines on this small island at the southern end of the Japanese archipelago.

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Japan navy showcases warships amid spat with China

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force escort ship "Kurama" leads other vessels during a fleet review in water off Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo, on Oct. 14, 2012.

ABOARD THE JS YUDACHI (AP) -- Japan's navy marked its 60th anniversary with a major exercise intended to show off its maritime strength. The display comes amid a tense territorial dispute with China.
About 40 ships - including state-of-the-art destroyers, hovercraft able to launch assaults on rough coastlines and new conventionally powered submarines - took part in Fleet Review 2012, the maritime equivalent of a military parade. About 30 naval aircraft, mostly helicopters, also participated Sunday.

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Japanese React With Fear, Anger Over China Islands Dispute

TOKYO — The dispute between Japan and China over the ownership of a chain of islands in the East China Sea continues to escalate, with China boycotting a meeting of the IMF being held in Tokyo. A growing sense of fear over China's increasing strength is being reported in the Japanese capital.

In August a fleet of Japanese boats headed for the disputed islands, called the Senkaku by Japan, and the Diaoyu by China. After a journey of several hours, some of the activists - including Japanese lawmakers - swim out to the uninhabited rocks.


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China-Japan Tensions Concern South Korea

SEOUL—South Korea's economy won't benefit from a prolonged breakdown in relations between Japan and China because it would damage increasingly interlinked trade in the region, Seoul's trade minister said.
A simmering diplomatic feud between Beijing and Tokyo heated up on Wednesday when top Chinese financial officials canceled plans to attend meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Japan. The dispute, over contested islands, has also hurt sales of Japanese cars in China.
South Korea's auto makers have in turn benefited from a jump in sales in China, but Trade Minister Bark Tae-ho said Seoul was not "sitting there and feeling happy."

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South Korea scrambled F-15s for Japanese helicopter near Takeshima

SEOUL — A Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter flew close on Sept. 21 to the South Korean-controlled islets claimed by Japan, prompting South Korea to mobilize fighter jets, according to TV broadcaster KBS.

The chopper left the area after being warned away by the South Korean military, KBS reported Thursday.

The MSDF confirmed Friday that one of its helicopters entered the area while conducting a takeoff and landing drill on a destroyer positioned some 50 km east of the disputed islets in the Sea of Japan known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.

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US Osprey military aircraft begin Okinawa base move

The Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that can take off like a helicopter

The US has begun the controversial deployment of Osprey military aircraft to the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, amid protests over the move.

The Ospreys arrived at a US base in western Japan in July, ahead of their deployment to Okinawa's Futenma airbase.
Six of the aircraft have now landed in Futenma, reports say.
Okinawa residents have opposed the move, citing safety fears following crashes in Morocco and Florida.
The Osprey is a hybrid military aircraft that has a rotor and can take off like a helicopter but flies like a plane. A total of 12 are to be stationed at Futenma airbase.

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Australia Likely To Buy Subs From Japan

      Japan and Australia are likely to confirm a defense technology deal involving the technology transfer of Japan’s highly regarded diesel-electric AIP Soryu submarine, according to the Japan Security Watch. This deal is an outgrowth of the relaxing of the arms export restrictions that took place late last year.

      The two could collaborate on maritime domain, particularly in terms of Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW). When the two countries held their first bilateral defense exercises recently they engaged in ASW exercises, something they have also done so with the US in trilateral exercises.

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No Sign of Progress in Japan-China Island Dispute

A group of disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China is seen from the city government of Tokyo's survey vessel in the East China Sea, September 2, 2012.

 A bitter territorial dispute between China and Japan showed no signs of improvement Tuesday, as foreign ministers from both countries held high-level talks to ease tensions.

The official Xinhua news agency says Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi "reiterated China's position" on the disputed East China Sea islands during the talks, which were held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

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South China Sea Burning Again

Growing tension between China and Japan fuels concerns over potential war 

China’s incoming leader re-emerged this weekend after an unexplained two-week absence, just in time to see the country he’s about to inherit consumed with rabid anti-Japanese nationalism that his Communist Party unleashed, and which the United States warned on Sunday could lead to a regional war.
Beijing’s rapidly deteriorating relationship with Tokyo will top the agenda as Xi Jinping takes over as general secretary of the Communist Party from President Hu Jintao, a promotion expected as early as next month. While Mr. Xi will continue to share power with Mr. Hu for months afterward, the stakes could scarcely be higher for his first test.
Six days of sanctioned anti-Japanese protests – which escalated Sunday into a nationwide day of rage that saw Japanese businesses and diplomatic missions attacked – have whipped up hatred and created a situation that leaves the Chinese leadership little room to compromise in a showdown over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who is on the verge of calling an election that will see him challenged from the nationalist right, similarly has little room to negotiate.

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Beijing Unrest Over Island Dipspute

Protests Erupt in Beijing Over Disputed Islands 

  Associated Press

A demonstrator threw a traffic cone in front of the fence set up by the line of Chinese Paramilitary policemen during an anti-Japanese protests outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing Saturday.

BEIJING—Several thousand protesters pelted Japan's embassy in Beijing with eggs and plastic bottles, and crowds attacked a Japanese-owned department store in central China, as popular anger escalated over Tokyo's plans to purchase contested islands in the East China Sea.
Hundreds of police struggled to maintain order outside the embassy in central Beijing. Groups of protesters confronted police in full riot gear, berating them for protecting the building.
"Smash Japanese imperialism," the protesters chanted as they marched through the embassy district. Some sang the Chinese national anthem and held high portraits of Mao Zedong. Young protesters climbed into trees outside the embassy's gates where they burned a Japanese flag to the crowd's cheers.

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US Delayed Osprey Aircraft In Japan

US Osprey Military Aircraft Deployment In Okinawa May Be Delayed 

 

(RTTNews) - Deployment of the controversial U.S. Osprey military aircraft at an American airbase in Japan's Okinawa island is likely to be delayed in the context of increasing public concern over its safety.

This was indicated by Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto on Wednesday while meeting with Yoshihiko Fukuda, the mayor of Iwakuni city in Yamaguchi prefecture where a dozen Ospreys are currently being held ahead of their deployment in the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa.
Operations of the Osprey transport aircraft at Futenma may not begin early next month as originally scheduled, Japanese media quoted Morimoto as saying.
Talks between Japan and the U.S. over the deployment may take another week or two, he said adding that the U.S. would begin transferring Ospreys to Okinawa after about two weeks of trial flights at Iwakuni. Ospreys may start operations in Okinawa sometime next month, but it is unlikely to be early in the month.

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Protest In Japan For US Hybrid Aircraft

Mass protest in Japan against US hybrid aircraft

 

Tens of thousands of people rallied on Japan's southern island of Okinawa today against the deployment of US Osprey military aircraft after a series of accidents elsewhere involving the planes.
Protesters demanded the United States and Japan immediately scrap plans to deploy 12 MV-22 Ospreys at the Futenma US base on Okinawa and shut down the Futenma base in the crowded city of Ginowan.
The turnout at the main rally was estimated by organisers at more than 100,000. Okinawan media put the number at "tens of thousands".

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South Korean Militery Excercise

South Korea to hold exercise on disputed islands

SEOUL — Amid rising tensions with Japan, South Korea will hold an exercise this weekend aimed at protecting a bitterly contested island territory from invasion — by both foreign militaries and protesters.
The exercise, to be held at the Dokdo islets Friday through Monday, has been scaled down and will include fewer than 1,000 troops, a spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, though both he and other military officials declined to confirm the exact number of participants.
A key aim is training South Korean maritime police to respond to a possible invasion of the two rocky islands by Japanese demonstrators, another JCS spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said South Korea believes a military response to a civilian landing would send the message that Dokdo is a “troubled area” and could further Japanese efforts to take the case before an international court.

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Korean -Japness Military Programe Update

S. Korea, Japan temporarily halt military exchange programs: paper 

(ATTN: UPDATES with South Korean military's drill in 12-15 paras)
SEOUL/TOKYO, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Japan have temporarily suspended planned military exchange programs between the sides, a Japanese newspaper reported Sunday, in the wake of worsening public sentiment over a continued territorial stand-off.

   Exchanges between the Japanese and South Korean militaries have deepened in recent years, but bilateral relations between the two nations have soured quickly after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made an unprecedented visit to the easternmost islets of Dokdo on Aug. 10.

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