Sino-Japanese dispute intensifies

Tension rises between China and Japan over the disputed Senkaku Islands, which Chinese call Diaoyu, as a ceremony is held to hoist the Chinese flag.

Sino-Japanese dispute over islands intensifies in New Year

Tension is rising between China and Japan over the disputed Senkaku Islands, which Chinese call Diaoyu, early in the New Year.

Beijing has held a ceremony to hoist the Chinese national flag aboard a vessel near waters off the disputed islands, while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has ordered his government to strengthen its defense.

China`s State Oceanic Administration announced through Chinese media that it held the ceremony near the islands Tuesday and pledged to defend “territorial sovereignty.” Beijing also held another ceremony on an official fishing guidance ship on Oct. 7 last year.

Around noon Saturday, the oceanic agency`s Y-12 twin-turboprop aircraft ventured some 100 kilometers away from Senkaku. It soon left the zone without entering Japanese airspace over the islands after Japan`s Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets. This was the fourth time for a Chinese aircraft to approach the islands.

Click to continue to full article.

Source: The Dong-A Ilbo.