The relations between China and
Japan have reached "
The Senkaku Islands also
known as the Diaoyu Islands are a group of uninhabited
islands controlled by Japan in the East China Sea. They are
located roughly due east of Mainland China, northeast of Taiwan, west
of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu
Islands.
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| The Senkaku Islands also known as the Diaoyu Islands |
So why the relations so
tense? The islands are important for both countries, because they are close to strategically important shipping
lanes, offer rich fishing grounds and are thought to contain oil deposits. If you
want to have a powerful state, you should reach cheap energy resources, make
strong economy and spread the sphere of influence. This influence
can be coercive, attractive, or competitive.
American author Charles W. Freeman, Jr. described power as the following:
"Power is the capacity to direct the
decisions and actions of others. Power derives from strength and will. Strength
comes from the transformation of resources into capabilities. Will infuses
objectives with resolve. Strategy marshals capabilities and brings them to bear
with precision. Statecraft seeks through strategy to magnify the mass,
relevance, impact, and irresistibility of power. It guides the ways the state
deploys and applies its power abroad. These ways embrace the arts of war,
espionage, and diplomacy. The practitioners of these three arts are the
paladins of statecraft"
A country's power determines its stats in the international arena. Although there are some historical roots of this dispute, the main reason of tense of relations is the power. Japan and China are the great powers of their regions, so their interests will clash like in this dispute. The islands have strategical and economic importance for both countries. Obtaining these islands will also show the world who is the chief of the region.
In addition, The
Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) 18th National Congress originally scheduled
for the fall of 2012. So, Chinese leaders will not want to be seen as weak. So,
they will try to bring to the fore the feelings of nationalism in China.
Japan will also act like China.
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| Bo Xilai |
However, we should not
forget that the Chinese government also has been trying to focus national
attention away from allegations of corruption and abuse of power involving a
prominent former Communist Party official, Bo Xilai.
Consequently, these two
rival states will not do something wrong to shake their influence in the
international arena. Moreover, while the
financial crisis continues in the world, other states will not want to go to
war like in the Korean War and they will assume the role of mediator.
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