Protests and conflicts in 21st century

• 23 April 2004: a member of a Japanese right-wing group rammed a bus into the Chinese consulate in Osaka, to protest Chinese claims.^[1]
• July 2004: Japan started exploring for natural gas in what it considers its own exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea as a step to counter China's building of a natural gas complex nearby. Japan plans to survey a 30-kilometer-wide band stretching between latitudes 28 and 30 degrees North, just inside the border demarcated by Japan. China disputes Japan's rights to explore the area east of the median line between the two countries, which Japan has proposed as the demarcation line for their exclusive economic zones.^[1]
• July 2004: a group of Chinese held a demonstration outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing afternoon to protest Japan's "illegal" oil exploration activities in a disputed area of the East China Sea. The protesters, organized by Beijing-based organization called the Patriots Alliance Network.^[1]
• 17 March 2006: Kyodo News reported the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Thomas Schieffer, presented that he considered "the Islands as territory of Japan" in his talk in Tokyo.^[2]

*27 October 2006: A group of activists from the Hong Kong-based Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands approached the islands to show the support for Chinese claims to the Diaoyu Islands. They were stopped from landing on the islands by the Japan Coast Guard.^[3] Later on, the PLAN conducted a military exercise in the area.^[4]

2008

*June:

• • On 10 June 2008, the 270 ton sport fishing vessel Lien Ho (聯合號) of Taiwan suffered a collision with the Japanese patrol vessel Koshiki. The vessel sank while in the disputed territorial waters that have been claimed by Japan and Taiwan (ROC).^[5] The Taiwanese crew who were aboard the vessel claims that the larger Japanese frigate deliberately crashed into them; Japanese coast guard initially claimed that the Taiwanese boat had crashed into the patrol ship.^[6] While releasing the passengers, Japan initially detained the captain and sought reparations.^[7][8]
  • On 13 June, the captain was released.^[9]
  • On 16 June, a boat carrying activists from Taiwan, defended by five Republic of China Coast Guard vessels, approached to within 0.4 nautical miles (740 m) of the main island, from which position they circumnavigated the island in an assertion of sovereignty of the islands. This demonstration prompted Taiwanese politicians to cancel a planned trip on-board Republic of China Navy vessels to demonstrate sovereignty.^[10] The Taiwanese vessels were followed by Japanese Coast Guard vessels, but no attempt was made to intercept them.
  • On 20 June, upon releasing the video taken by people on board the Taiwanese boat, Japan apologized for the incident^[11] and agreed to pay NT$10 million (US$311,000) as compensation to the owner of the boat.^[12] Liu Chao-shiuan, Premier of the Republic of China, has refused to rule out the use of force to defend the islands against Japanese advances.^[13] The ROC government recalled its chief representative to Japan in protest.^[14] On 20 June, the de facto Japanese ambassador to Taiwan apologized, in person, to the captain of the Taiwanese boat Lien Ho.^[15]

2010

• September:
  • On 7 September 2010, a Chinese fishing trawler collided with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats in disputed waters near the islands. The collisions occurred after the Japanese Coast Guard ordered the trawler to leave the area. After the collisions, Japanese sailors boarded the Chinese vessel and arrested the captain Zhan Qixiong.^[16]
  • On 18 September, the 79th anniversary of the Mukden Incident, widespread anti-Japanese protests were held in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Shenyang.^[17]
  • On 22 September, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao threatened further action if the captain of the Chinese fishing trawler was not released.^[18]
  • On 24 September, Japan released the Chinese captain, and stated that keeping the captain in custody would not be appropriate and it would raise considerable impact on Sino-Japanese relations.^[19]
  • On 25 September, China demanded an apology and compensation from Japan for holding the Chinese boat captain in the collision incident. Japan rejected the Chinese demand.^[20]
  • On 27 September, Japan said that it would counter-claim against China for damage to their patrol boats in the collision.^[21]
• October:

• • On 2 October, large scale anti-Chinese protests occurred in Tokyo and six other cities in Japan.^[22][23]
  • On 3 October, a group of right wing Japanese protesters marched to the Ikebukuro mall specializing in Chinese food demanding that the islands be defended against the Chinese.^[24]
  • On 6 October, a joint USA/Japan drill is planned, based on the defense of Okinawa in December,^[25][26] though Japanese Prime Minister Kan Naoto told parliament that the joint military exercise was not planned specifically with the islands in mind.^[27]
  • On 14 October, Japan's Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, along with other members of the LDP party filed a complaint against Google Maps demanding the removal of the Chinese name "Diaoyutai" from the interactive map services. Google refused, stating that they wish to remain neutral.^[28]

2011

• June – On 29 June 2011, a fishing boat from Taiwan, named "Tafa 268", with some activists aboard, navigated to waters some 23 nautical miles off the disputed Diaoyutai/Senkaku Islands in the morning. The Japanese coast guard immediately mobilized four patrol vessels to block the “Tafa 268”, and a Japanese helicopter was also dispatched to monitor the Taiwanese boat. The Coast Guard Agency (CGA) Keelung office of Taiwan sent five patrol vessels there and managed to break the Japanese blockade to sail close to the Taiwanese fishing boat. Both sides of coast guard vessels reiterated the disputed islands were their own territory but no collision happened, and "Tafa 268" set off for home escorted by the CGA vessels after a 25-minute standoff.^[29][30]

• July: On 3~4 July, nine Japanese fishing boats, including one owned by a senior official of a Japanese nationalist group, were fishing near the islands. Beijing lodged a stern remonstration with Tokyo on 4 July 2011, over such Japanese fishing activities. Chinese Foreign Ministry demands that Japanese fishing vessels be immediately withdrawn.^[31][32][33] On the morning of 3 July, the Japan Coast Guard found that Chinese fishery patrol vessel “Fishery 201″ in waters near the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. Japanese patrol vessels issued a warning “Do not enter Japanese territorial waters “. China “Fishery 201″ then responded it was conducting legitimate task in that the waters around the Diaoyu Islands under the jurisdiction of China.^[34] Also on 4 July, two Chinese military aircraft approached the disputed islands. When the planes came within 37 miles of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) immediately scrambled an F-15 to intercept them.^[35]

• November:
  • Apparently influenced by the dispute with China over the Senkakus, Japan vocally supported the United States at the November 2011 East Asia Summit in declaring that the South China Sea, much of which China claims, is under the jurisdiction of international maritime law and any disputes over the area must be resolved through multi-national cooperation and dialogue. China, in contrast, declared that any disputes over possession of the South China Sea should be resolved bilaterally, not through multi-nationational forums or talks.^[36]
  • In advance of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's planned December 2011 state visit to the PRC, the PRC government requested that the two countries begin negotiations over national boundaries in the East China Sea. According to Kyodo News, the proposal by China appeared to be an effort to get Japan to acknowledge that a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands existed.^[37]

2012

• July:
  • On 4 July, Coastguard vessels from Taiwan and Japan collided in waters near a disputed island chain Wednesday, as the Taiwanese vessel was escorting activists to the area.^[38]
  • On 7 July, the Japanese Prime Minister stated that these islands are an integral part of his country and the Government is considering their purchase from the Japanese owner.^[39] This was also done to prevent the islands from being bought by the government of Tokyo.^[40]
  • Three Chinese patrol vessels entered the disputed waters around these islands on 11 July 2012.^[41] On 15 July 2012, Japan recalled their ambassador to China to work on the response to the transgression.^[42] In late July, Japanese officials have raised alarms regarding increased Chinese military expansion.^[43]
  • The events would eventually escalate and lead up to widespread protests in China.
• August
  • On 8 August, after a meeting between the Japanese Defense Minister and the American Defense Secretary, it was announced that UAVs would be used to conduct surveillance around Okinawa, which will include the Senkaku Islands.^[44][45]
  • On 15 August, ships carrying activists from Hong Kong approached the islands, but were stopped by the Japan Coast Guard. Seven activists jumped from the ships to swim ashore, five of whom reached the island; the other two turned back to the ships. The activists and their ship were detained by Japanese authorities.^[46] The detained activists were deported two days later.^[47]
  • On 18 August, a flotilla of four boats^[48] carrying about 150 Japanese activists^[49] organized by right-wing group Ganbare Nippon arrived at the islands. The activists stated that they wished to commemorate Japanese World War II deaths in the area. When the activists were denied permission to land, several of them swam to the islands.^[50] Ten activists swam to the islands and made an unauthorized landing on Uotsuri, where they raised Japanese flags.^[51][52]
    • China’s Foreign Ministry protested the event before it happened saying that unilateral action by Japan on the islands "is illegal and invalid." China also lodged a formal complaint,^[vague] and urged Japan to prevent frictions from escalating more.^[53] The flotilla arrival at the archipelago also set off anti-Japanese rallies in more than 25 Chinese cities,^[54][55] and 100 people gathered near Japan's consulate in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou to demand that the Japanese leave the islands.^[49] Chinese protestors overturned Japanese-branded cars and smashed windows of Japanese-themed businesses.^[53][56]

Chinese anti-Japanese protests

• • On 19 August, protests broke out in Chinese cities including Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xi'an and Jinan, as well as Hong Kong.^[57]
  • On 26 August, the Japanese government announced it is making a ¥2.05 billion bid for the Senkaku Islands to bring them under state control around next month.^[58]
• September
  • On 11 September, China sent two patrol ships to the islands to demonstrate its claim of ownership.^[59] Japan formally nationalized the three islands that were held in the ownership of Kunioki Kurihara.^[60][61] Taiwan's Foreign Ministry lodged a strong protest to Japan, calling the island purchase an "extremely unfriendly move" that "not only harms the longtime cooperation between Taiwan and Japan but will also aggravate regional tensions in East Asia."^[62] China Meteorological Administration begins daily weather forecast for Senkaku Islans on CCTV as well as already started for Paracel Islands, Macclesfield Bank and Spratly Islands.^[63]
  • On 12 September, there was a small anti-Japanese protest in Taipei which included flag-burning.^[64]
  • On 13 September, Chinese government submitted a nautical chart with baselines of the territorial sea on Senkaku Islands to the United Nations.^[65][66]
  • Weekend of 15–16 September
    • Citizens in mainland China participated in protest marches and called for a boycott of Japanese products in as many as 85 Chinese cities,^[67] including Shanghai, Shenyang, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou and Harbin, as well as Hong Kong^[68][69][70] Demonstrations escalated to arson of Japanese vehicles and other criminal acts in Beijing,^[71] Shenzhen,^[71] Guangzhou,^[72] Changsha,^[73][74] Suzhou,^[71] Mianyang,^[70] Xi'an^[74][75][76] and Qingdao.^[71]
    • There were protests in Los Angeles,^[77] Houston, San Francisco,^[78] New York^[79] and Chicago, as well as a petition to the US government and Congress to take a neutral stance over the dispute.^[80]
    • South China Morning Post reporter Felix Wong was reportedly beaten by police in Shenzhen while covering the protests.^[81]
    • US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters "I am concerned that when these countries engage in provocations of one kind or another over these various islands that it raises the possibility that a misjudgment on one side or the other could result in violence and could result in conflict"^[82]
  • On 14 September 2012, six Chinese vessels approached the disputed islands, with two circling the island chain before leaving the area.^[83] Later on 18 September 2012, Chinese media reported a flotilla of approximately 1,000 Chinese fishing boats heading towards the islands.^[84] China increased the number of vessels patrolling within the region close to the islands on 22 September, sending a flotilla of 4 marine surveillance vessels and 9 fishery monitoring craft.^[85]
  • On 16 September, China officially announced its plan to request natural extension of its continental shelf up to Okinawa Trough (which would extend its EEZ) from the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.^[86]
  • On 17 September, Kōichirō Gemba said that there was a mutual understanding that the United States would defend the islands, even though the subject was not discussed with the Americans.^[87]
  • On 18 September, people in over 180 cities of China attend protests on the 81st anniversary of the Mukden Incident.^[88]
  • On 23 September 2012, China launched a program to increase the number of UAVs monitoring the Scarborough Shoal, Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands and East China Sea monitoring the Senkakus, which follows a national marine zoning program approved by the State Council during the previous year as a part of China's 12th five-year plan.^[89]
  • On 25 September 2012, 75 Taiwanese fishing vessels sailed towards the disputed islands, escorted by 10 patrol vessels of the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration. The Taiwan Coast Guard vessels clashed with the Japan Coast Guard, with both sides firing water cannons, with no casualties. According to the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration, the Japanese side mobilised 21 ships, the largest weighting 6,000 tonnes, and meanwhile there were five mainland Chinese patrol ships within the region surrounding the islands more than 12 nautical miles away.^[90][91]

Incursions into Japanese-controlled territory

On December 13, 2012, a Chinese government aircraft entered Japanese-controlled airspace for the first time since records began in 1958,^[92] following months of incursions by Chinese surface vessels.^[93] The Japan Air Self-Defense Force scrambled eight F-15 fighters and an airborne early warning aircraft in response to the Chinese flight. The Japanese government made a formal diplomatic protest to China.^[94]

On December 14, U.S. State Department spokesperson Patrick Ventrell said, "We are concerned by the flight of a Chinese Government airplane near the Senkakus. ... We’ve raised our concerns with the Chinese Government directly and made clear that U.S. policy and commitments regarding the Senkakus Islands are longstanding and have not changed."^[95]

On December 21st, Congress passed a bill pledging to help defend the islands against Chinese attack.^[96]

2013

• January:
  • On 10 January 2013, the Chinese sent a pair of J-10 fighters, in addition to a Y-8 aircraft to the area, while Japan sent a pair of F-15 fighters.^[97][98][99] Later that month The Economist magazine said that Chinese media appeared to be preparing its population for military action,^[100][101] and Japanese officials stated that it may fire warning shots, using tracers, as a warning against violations of territory.^[102][103]
  • On 16 January, Xinhua News Agency reported that a Chinese survey team would be sent to the islands.^[104]
  • On 18 January, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said "although the United States does not take a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands, we acknowledge they are under the administration of Japan, and we oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine Japanese administration." She also reiterated U.S. security treaty obligations to defend Japan over the islets in the event of an armed attack.^[105][106] The PRC government objected to this statement and a further report that Japan was said to be considering the use of warning shots against further incursions, which the Chinese characterized as 'firing the first shot'.^[107]
  • On 23 January 2013, Nozomu Ishii of Nagasaki Junshin Catholic Universit claimed that his research showed that the Ming dynasty had renounced all claims to the islands.^[108]
  • In an incident on 24 January, 2013, a boat carrying activists from Taiwan was intercepted by Japanese patrols and diverted from an attempted landing on the islands. The boat, a fishing vessel named Happy Family, had seven people on board, was engaged by a vessel of the Japan Coast Guard and the two vessels fired water cannons at each other before the Taiwanese vessel turned back. The stated goal of the activists was to place a statue to Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea, on the islands. Aside from the two ships engaged in the water cannon duel were several ships of the both the Japan Coast Guard and the Taiwan Coast Guard, both of which patrol the area.^[109][110]
  • Also on 24 January, China's Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping agreed to consider holding a summit with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as previously proposed in a personal letter^[111] hand-delivered to Xi Jinping four days previously by Shinzo Abe's envoy and junior coalition partner Natsuo Yamaguchi.^[112] China called for an assessment of its scientific claims to be included in the provisional agenda of a meeting of the U.N.'s Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which is scheduled to be held in New York from July 15 to Aug 30.^[113][114]
  • On 29 January, the Japan Coast Guard announced that a special task force of twelve ships was to be established in three-years time, to be based on Ishigaki Island, only 175 kilometers from the disputed Senkaku Islands. Four 1,000-ton patrol vessels are currently under construction; the Japanese government plans to spend an additional US$96 million to build six more ships in same class.^[115]

• February:
  • On February 5, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera revealed that a Chinese frigate had locked weapons-targeting radar onto a Japanese destroyer and helicopter on two occasions in January.^[116][117] The Chinese Jiangwei II-class frigate and the Japanese destroyer were three kilometers apart, and the crew of the latter went to battle stations.^[118]The Chinese state media responded that their frigates had been engaged in routine training at the time.^[119][120] Japanese officers suggested that the incident may have been caused by a Chinese crew reacting nervously after having been ordered to confront the superior Japanese force in the area;^[121] other analysts suggest that such a decision would not have been made independently by the captain of a frigate, but presumably by senior level officer of the North Sea Fleet command.^[122] U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland remarked that "[W]ith regard to the reports of this particular lock-on incident, actions such as this escalate tensions and increase the risk of an incident or a miscalculation, and they could undermine peace, stability, and economic growth in this vital region. So we are concerned about it."^[123]
  • Also on February 5, Foreign Policy published the article China and Japan's Wikipedia War, which noted that the two Wikipedia articles (on the dispute and on the islands themselves) were "two of the most prominent English-language sources about the islands on the Internet."^[124]
  • On February 9, Japan Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera suggested that a military-to-military hotline be established; the proposal had been formally made to Beijing via Japan's embassy on February 7. (Political and military hotlines had been agreed to in 2010 and 2011, respectively, but due to rising tensions had not been built.) Itsunori also reported that the release of some data from the targeting radar incidents was under consideration.^[125]

refs