Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Attempts to lower tensions over disputed islands in the East China Sea between the government of China, Japan and South Korea have failed. Tokyo has announced it will buy the Diaoyu Islands, known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands, from private interests so as to assert its sovereignty. A meeting at the APEC summit between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was cancelled as a result.
At present, the five islands and three atolls are under Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. But mainland China claims sovereignty. Every time the dispute flares up, it tends to affect relations between Asia's top economies.
The islands' value is unclear, but they are strategically located across various maritime routes. They may, according to some observers, also have rich fishing grounds and the seabed might high huge gas reserves.
In 2008, as a gesture of détente, Japan and China signed an agreement to jointly develop the islands' resources, but nothing came of it.
In August, a series of symbolic actions reignited the controversy. Some mainland activists, plus some from Hong Kong and even Taiwan landed on the islands and planted their flags, including that of Taiwan, which China normally does not tolerate.
Japan reacted by sending its own group, which included a government minister. In China, this sparked by violent mass demonstrations against Japanese consulates, homes and stores.
On 30 August, tensions appeared to have eased, when Prime Minister Noda wrote to President Hu, calling for "calm." A meeting to lessen tensions was scheduled to take place at the APEC summit in Vladivostok, but Tokyo's decision to buy the islands ended that chance.
But there is more. Japan is now confronting South Korea over the Dokdo/Takeshima Rocks.
Seoul recently announced its decision to conduct its annual naval exercises (which include also the land and air forces) near the disputed area, which South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited just last month.