Wednesday 9 January 2013

JAPAN AND THE DIAOYU/SENKAKU

The Telegraph DEF

JAPAN SUMMONS CHINESE ENVOY OVER DISPUTED ISLANDS ROW

The Japanese government has summoned China's ambassador to protest four Chinese maritime surveillance ships that spent about 13 hours in waters near disputed islands claimed by both countries.

The Telegraph, January 9, 2013

The uninhabited outcroppings in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.

Tensions over the tiny islands intensified after Tokyo bought them from their Japanese private owners in September, prompting Chinese to hold demonstrations and boycott Japanese products.

The heightened tensions comes as Japan announced it plans to spend $2.1 billion on its military over the next few months as part of a huge stimulus package.

The cash is in addition to the regular military spending for 2012-13 and is separate from a boosted budget request for next fiscal year that ruling party policy makers called for on Tuesday.

"We will request 180.5 billion yen to be allocated to military spending from a stimulus package," a defence ministry spokesman told AFP, adding that some of the cash will be used to buy PAC-3 surface-to-air anti-ballistic missile systems and modernise four F-15 fighter jets.

(...) [article here]

No comments: