These Senkaku (Japanese) or Diaoyu (Chinese) islands have brought about much conflict recently.

The 5 islands (with 3 further “rocks” added depending on classification) are located in the East China Sea, and formally controlled by the Japanese, but both China and Taiwan feel that the islands belong to Taiwan.
In 2010, a Chinese fishing boat hit a Japanese patrol boat near the islands, and the crew of the ship were taken in for questioning, but nobody was charged with any official crime.

Earlier this year, another fishing boat was allowed to swim around the islands, shown in the picture to the right, but some of the passengers were members of an activist group, who held up a Chinese flag to show their opinion on the matter. However, Taiwan felt offended by this, as they were not represented. 

Yet another boat sailed to the islands on Sunday morning, with more activists who protested on the island. When Chinese citizens found out, certain locations experienced rioting and antisocial behaviour, one car displaying a Japanese certification was even flipped and smashed to disrepair.

Some may wonder why there is so much fuss over a set of uninhabited, undeveloped islands, but China claims they were the first to discover and control the islands, and even the US took control after World War 2 when Japan surrendered.

But what do you think? Should Japan give up their control of the nautical nuisances? Or should they fight for the acceptance of China and Taiwan? Leave your thoughts below, but remember to be logged in!

Crossword Clue Challenge time! Number 8: What Sea are these islands located in? (4,5,3) _ _ _ _ , _ _ _ _ _ , _ _ _

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