Apr 12, 2021
Earlier this week Kyodo News dropped a bombshell (pun intended) by introducing the contents of declassified U.S. documents that the U.S. government turned down a request in June 1978 for its military based in Japan to use its firing and bombing ranges in the Senkaku Islands.
The reason given in the story, reprinted on April 5 in The Japan Times (“U.S. ceased using Senkaku islets as firing range in 1978 to avoid riling China”), is that the U.S. government feared “it could become embroiled in a Sino-Japanese territorial dispute.”
Although the fact that the U.S. military has not used the ranges since that time is commonly known, the reason for it has been one of speculation without the supporting documents. Thus, the importance of the Kyodo reporting.
The dangerously flawed U S Senkakus policy japantimes.co.jp - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from japantimes.co.jp Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
2021/01/02 15:11 Kuba Jima, an islet among the Diaoyutai Islands Kuba Jima, an islet among the Diaoyutai Islands (CNA photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) Government vessels from China reportedly came within 24 nautical miles (44.4 kilometers) of the disputed Diaoyutai Islands on 333 days last year, including one eight-day stay by a Chinese ship in the area. Surrounded by rich fishing grounds, the Diaoyutai Islands are located approximately 200 km southwest of Okinawa and a similar distance northeast of Taiwan. Both Taiwan and Japan have claimed jurisdiction over the uninhabited islands since the 1970s, while Beijing bases its claim on the grounds that it views Taiwan as an offshore province.