Tech & Science
John Hofilena on Jun 11 2013
The world of clandestine espionage between nations is one that is hidden, almost by mutual consent among nations, from the public eye. But at one time or another, something is revealed from that world – this piece of a
Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile would be one of them. The missile fragment, part of the one used by China to shoot down its own satellite – was sent to Barnard Castle antiques dealer David Harper from a Japanese client and could well fetch nearly 400,000 US dollars when auctioned.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Monday that Japan and the
United States do not differ in their stance toward the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The Japanese government's top spokesman made his comments after United States President Barack Obama asked Chinese President Xi Jinping in their meetings to
strive for de-escalation in its territorial dispute with Japan, a dispute whose existence Tokyo indignantly refuses to acknowledge.
United States and Japanese troops are set to begin their scheduled joint
military exercises in the next two weeks as part of plans to strengthen Tokyo's amphibious assault capabilities, as well as to improve its response system to crises like earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. The troops converged over the weekend in California's southern coast and is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
China has asked the United States and Japan to cancel its scheduled exercises this month in California where U.S. military and Japan’s Self Defense Forces (SDF) will be training for amphibious assault aimed at
recapturing an island, this in light of the ongoing territorial spat between the two Asian neighbors regarding an uninhabited chain of islands in the East China Sea. Sources have revealed that China filed this request through diplomatic channels, adding that Beijing's stance is firmly against the drill.
Features Politics
John Hofilena on Jun 4 2013
In a recent development that is sure to add more complication to an already messy territorial spat between Japan and
China, former chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka revealed in Beijing that the two nations had agreed to “shelve” the alleged dispute regarding the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands when the two countries normalized relations in the early 1970s. This revelation by Nonaka – who had worked under the late Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, famous for normalizing relations with Beijing in 1972 – is totally opposite of the government’s official stance that
there is no such dispute, and that the islands belong unequivocally to Japan.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his speech at a conference on 'The Future of Asia' that Japan plays an integral role in the future of Asia. Now that the world is bullish once again on the Japanese economy, Lee called on Japan to strengthen its partnerships with Southeast Asian countries, as well as the rest of the region.
National
John Hofilena on May 22 2013
Government sources have revealed that the submarine
detected plying the waters of the contiguous zone around Minami-Daitojima island in Okinawa Prefecture on Sunday were picked up by a Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) patrol plane using a sonobuoy – a small floating sonar system that emits sound waves, and transmits its data back to the sonar operators. Using the sonobuoy, the plane was able to let the submarine know that it was being monitored.
China's media regulator will reportedly impose regulations on the content of TV dramas based on the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. The popularity of these anti-Japanese dramas set during World War II has led to "fabricated content" and "overly dramatic" presentations of the subject matter.
National Politics
John Hofilena on May 15 2013
A
Chinese two-star general has said out in public what would probably be the next level on the ongoing territorial dispute between Japan and China – that Okinawa does not belong to Japan. Luo Yuan, a general in the People's Liberation Army, has said that Japan has no rightful claim on sovereignty over the Ryukyu island chain – of which
Okinawa is a part of – because the ancient leaders of the territory had started paying tribute to China 500 years or so before they had done so to Japan.
As the ongoing territorial row between Japan and
China continues with no end in sight, the nations' joint economy is often said to be the greatest victim. With many Japanese companies, most notably
in the auto industry, pulling their manufacturing operations out of China and moving to other locations in Asia, so as not to get caught up in political tensions, many say that China still holds too many of the economic cards, what with its lockdown on producing so many of the world's goods. But one analyst believes China may see a revolution in the next 10 years, triggered not with violence and weapons, but rather an economic deterioration.
