Asian Waters: The Struggle Over the South China Sea and the Strategy of Chinese Expansion

by Humphrey Hawksley

The Japanese government stepped in and purchased the islands itself, paying $20 million. China reacted angrily, setting off a chain of events that turned the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands into a global flashpoint, bringing to mind an image of two well-heeled billionaires fighting over a cigarette butt in a trash can. The thought that these desolate blots of maritime nothingness could be the cause of such disagreement between two of the world’s biggest economies beggars belief. Yet, that is what has happened because, even while riding the crest of a wave of wealth, an uneasiness deep inside each country has refreshed old hostilities that have yet to be dealt with. Japan’s announcement that it was taking ownership of the islands prompted protests in China, with crowds breaching a security cordon at the Japanese embassy in Beijing and trashing and burning factories owned by Honda, Panasonic, Toyota, and other Japanese companies. “Return our islands! Japanese devils get out!” was a chant of the rioters. One placard read, “For the respect of the motherland, we must go to war with Japan.”