Plans by activists from Taiwan, China and Hong Kong to sail to disputed islands in the East China Sea has prompted Japan’s top general to order the navy and air force to prepare for conflict.
Mao Iwasaki, chief of staff of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, ordered the coast guard, navy and air force to prepare for conflict over the disputed islands known as Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu or Tiaoyutai by China and Taiwan.
Japan’s coast guard has primary responsibility for protecting the islands. In the event the coast guard can’t handle the situation, both the navy and air force will be ordered to suppress any illegal activities over the waters of East China Sea, according to a late-July statement by Japan’s prime minister Yoshihiko Noda.
The Japanese statements were prompted by plans announced by nationalistic groups from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan who plan to rendezvous at sea and sail together to the disputed islands. The groups plan to leave their respective ports on Sunday.
Liu Weiming of China’s foreign ministry warned Japan that provocative actions in the way it handles the Chinese civilians sailing to the islands could lead to a full-scale conflict. Liu pledged to extend China’s protection to the activists from Taiwan.
Plans call for five and six Taiwanese activists to rendezvous on August 14 with the Hong Kong group near Pengjia, an islet of Fujian province. The voyage will be led by Huang Hsi-lin, chief executive director of the Chung Hwa Paotiao Alliance, a Taiwanese organization supporting Chinese sovereignty over the islands.
In July Huang caused controversy when he waved the flag of the People’s Republic of China in the area around the disputed islands. On his return he claimed that he is a Taiwanese patriot but had left his Republic of China flag at home by mistake.
The Senkakus comprise 5 small islands and 3 rocks located about halfway between mainland China and the island of Okinawa. The islands have been uninhabited since a Japanese bonita-processing plant failed in 1940. They are currently administered by the city of Ishigaki in Okinawa. One of the islands is being leased by the Japanese military while another is being used for aircraft bombing practice by the US.
