China & Japan Standoff

China & Japan Standoff

BEIJING — A two-week standoff between Japan and China over a boat collision shows the communist state is adopting a more aggressive stance against rivals and U.S. allies in Asia and there may be more tension to come, experts say.

"We've just watched the Chinese attempt to manage a dispute ... and they showed they would ratchet up the pressure and bully their way through a problem," said Sheila Smith, senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council for Foreign Relations, in Washington. "That doesn't set a good precedent for anyone that has to work through a problem with China."




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The collision happened near a chain of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea called Senkaku that Japan has controlled for decades. The area surrounding the islands contains natural gas.

In recent years, China has become more vocal that the islands 120 miles east of Taiwan are its property. It is the same claim China makes against Taiwan, a democratic nation and U.S. ally that the People's Republic of China has never governed.




Torii Shrine Gate in the Sea, Miyajima Island, Honshu, Japan

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Japan patrols the islands and on Sept. 7 took the Chinese fishing boat and its crew into custody after it said the captain rammed Japanese coast guard boats. What followed were daily denunciations and threats against Japan from China to release its citizens. Japan's government responded by releasing the 14-member crew, but Japanese prosecutors held onto the captain pending an investigation.

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