(BBC News)
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday Japan “cannot accept” China’s drill rig near a gas field disputed between the two countries, according to BBC News. The Chinese drill is the latest episode in the long-running series of conflicts over the disputed Pinnacle Islands.
The drill is actually on the Chinese side of the territory, spotted 16 miles from Japanese territory. However, Japan feels this is too close to their territory. Tokyo is concerned (probably justifiably) the Chinese will be able to siphon gas from the Japan side through (I presume) directional drilling.
The islands are known as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese. I usually refer to them by their less common English name, the Pinnacle Islands, to remain objective. (The islands are most commonly referred to by their Japanese name in English-language media.) However, after some research, I think Japan’s claim to the territory is more solid than China’s. Japan had an established historical presence on the islands, and China never staked a claim for the territory until gas resources were discovered there.
The uninhabited islands were first mentioned in Chinese books dating to the 15th century. Japanese books mention them in the 18th century. Japan formally annexed the islands in 1895. Shortly after, a Japanese fishery was established there. The fishery failed in 1940, and the islands have remained uninhabited, but privately Japanese-owned, ever since. The U.S. took control of the islands in 1945 following Japan’s defeat in World War II. In 1969, a U.N. commission identified oil and gas reserves around the islands. In 1972, the U.S. returned control of the islands to Japan, and the same year China and Taiwan staked their claims to the islands and the gas fields surrounding them.
Japan also has disputes the Kuril Islands with Russia and the Liancourt Rocks with South Korea.