Senkakus defended against Chinese Invasion!

[IkemenTommy]

[Mike Oxlong]

[SIZE="4"]Japan cries foul over rare earths[/SIZE]

The spat between China and Japan about supplies of so-called rare earth minerals &#8211]
Update:

[SIZE="4"]China rare earth prices explode as export volumes collapse[/SIZE]

China's exports of rare earth metals burst through the $100,000-per-tonne mark for the first time in February, up almost ninefold from a year before, while the volume of trade stayed far below historical averages.

China's squeeze on rare earths, which are used in a wide range of hardware including precision-guided weapons, hybrid car batteries and iPads, has forced prices up dramatically since July last year, when each tonne fetched a mere $14,405 on average.

The apparent price rises have averaged $10,000 per tonne per month but accelerated in February, galloping ahead by $34,000 per tonne, according to Reuters calculations based on data from China's Customs office.

The explosion in export values has coincided with a collapse in volumes coming out of China, the source of almost all the world's rare earth supplies, which has cut export quotas of the 17 rare earth metals and raised tariffs on exports.

China's actions have infuriated its trading partners but lifted the shares of the few mining and prospecting companies outside China that are well-placed to capitalize on the constriction of Chinese supply.

They include U.S. miner Molycorp Inc, Canada's Rare Element Resources and Neo Material Technologies and Australia's Arafura and Lynas.

But those firms' share prices have been under pressure this month because Japan's earthquake and tsunami are expected to temporarily slash demand from China's biggest customer. In February, 281 tonnes of Chinese exports went to Japan, valued at $38.9 million or $138,406 per tonne...

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

[Russell]

[SIZE="4"]Japan to name islets in disputed area[/SIZE]

Japan has decided to name several uninhabited islands in a group that is also claimed by China and Taiwan, a move likely to anger the Asian neighbors.

Japan's chief government spokesman said Monday that 39 uninhabited islands will be given names by the end of March.

The islands all are within what Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone. But four of them are in the Senkaku, or Daioyu, island group in the East China Sea, which is also claimed by Taiwan and China and have been a flashpoint in diplomatic relations.

More...

[maraboutslim]

On the one hand, if there is no point in naming these islands except to piss off the neighbors, that's lame. But on the other hand...at some point, this whole getting "angry" about shit one's not prepared to do anything about routine has got to stop. Hey China, Hey Taiwan, Hey Korea, go to the cemetery and curse your ancestors for the situation you find yourself in regards to Japan.

[matsuki]

...at some point, this whole getting "angry" about shit one's not prepared to do anything about routine has got to stop.

Well Korea is defending Takeshima and claiming it as their own...one would think if Japan wants to stake any claims to uninhabited, disputed, territory that would be the way to do it.

[Samurai_Jerk]

China on Monday protested at Japan's plan to name several dozen islands near an archipelago at the centre of a territorial dispute between the two countries, state media said.
The plan would include adding the 39 uninhabited islands to maps of Japan by the end of March, including some "surrounding islets" of the Diaoyu Islands, as they are known in China, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The East China Sea islands -- called Senkaku in Japan, and also claimed by Taiwan -- lie in an area with rich fishing grounds that is also believed to contain oil and gas deposits.
"The Diaoyu Islands and adjacent islets have always been part of Chinese territory, and China exercises its sovereignty over them," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a statement.
"China has already formally protested Japan's plan to name them," he said, adding that such "unilateral action" would be "illegal and invalid." ...

http://news.yahoo.com/china-protests-japans-island-naming-plan-210452186.html

[matsuki]

Giving them names is one thing, when they set up outposts and actually begin defending them, then China/Taiwan will have a reason to get upset.



Geographically, Taiwan would seem to have the best claim to them though...

[maraboutslim]

Just wait until the Chinese hear that Japan has their own name for China as well!

[Ganma]

[Mike Oxlong]

Geographically, Taiwan would seem to have the best claim to them though...

How's that? They're slightly (~30 km) closer to some of the islands in the Ryukyu Island chain than they are to Taiwan. I even measured with Google Maps.

[matsuki]

How's that? They're slightly (~30 km) closer to some of the islands in the Ryukyu Island chain than they are to Taiwan. I even measured with Google Maps.

I should have looked at Google Maps....indeed you are right.

History, current borders, and treaties aside though, it does look pretty fucked that Japan claims these and many of the Ryukyu islands that are so far south of the mainland and much closer to Taiwan.

[Coligny]

Fuck you all, I claim ownership of these Islands, wherever they are, in the name of His Majesty Henri VII Count of Paris, Duke of France.

That should settles it...

(after a second thought... maybee not... but... we got nukes, and it's election year...)

[Samurai_Jerk]

[matsuki]

Fuck you all, I claim ownership of these Islands, wherever they are, in the name of His Majesty Henri VII Count of Paris, Duke of France.

That should settles it...

(after a second thought... maybee not... but... we got nukes, and it's election year...)

Or just relocate the local flora/animals and blow them up so there is nothing to claim?

[Ganma]

Not quite: etymology.

Ah, the great wiki. What will we do when the FBI shuts it down?

[Coligny]

Ah, the great wiki. What will we do when the FBI shuts it down?

I got a local dump of the english wikipedia on all my computers... 5GB each... Soo don't worry... It'll leave on forever...

[Russell]

China on Monday protested at Japan's plan to name several dozen islands near an archipelago at the centre of a territorial dispute between the two countries, state media said.
The plan would include adding the 39 uninhabited islands to maps of Japan by the end of March, including some "surrounding islets" of the Diaoyu Islands, as they are known in China, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The East China Sea islands -- called Senkaku in Japan, and also claimed by Taiwan -- lie in an area with rich fishing grounds that is also believed to contain oil and gas deposits.
"The Diaoyu Islands and adjacent islets have always been part of Chinese territory, and China exercises its sovereignty over them," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a statement.
"China has already formally protested Japan's plan to name them," he said, adding that such "unilateral action" would be "illegal and invalid." ...

http://news.yahoo.com/china-protests-japans-island-naming-plan-210452186.html

How close can China come in admitting that these islands are not theirs, by letting an official of the Foreign Ministry comment? After all, it is not as if there are no officials available in the Internal Ministry or the Defense Ministry...

[matsuki]

How close can China come in admitting that these islands are not theirs, by letting an official of the Foreign Ministry comment? After all, it is not as if there are no officials available in the Internal Ministry or the Defense Ministry...

China won't admit anything but like I said, all these claims are pointless unless there is a permanent presence there.

[Samurai_Jerk]

How close can China come in admitting that these islands are not theirs, by letting an official of the Foreign Ministry comment? After all, it is not as if there are no officials available in the Internal Ministry or the Defense Ministry...

I don't quite get your logic since this is a dispute involving a foreign nation.

[Coligny]

I don't quite get your logic since this is a dispute involving a foreign nation.

+1 By the same logic if a country shoot down another country's plane over internationnal airspace who would you like to answer ? Dept of industry and technology ? Meteorological Office ? Or foreign affairs ?