Anti-Japan protests reignite in China
expatriates stayed home, afraid that Tuesday's anniversary of Japan's 1931 occupation of parts of mainland China could lead to outbreaks of violence.
Tuesday's brief landing by two Japanese nationals on one of the disputed islands, reported by Japan's coast guard, has raised fears of a direct clash in an area being patrolled by ships from both nations.
The activists briefly landed on one of the islands, having paddled up to it in a rubber raft and swum ashore before returning to the boat, Japanese broadcaster NHK said.
A flotilla of around 1,000 Chinese fishing boats is also reported by Chinese and Japanese media to be heading to the area, which contains potentially large gas reserves. In 2010, a bilateral crisis over the islands erupted after a fishing boat collided with a Japanese Coast Guard vessel.
The Japanese government has set up an information-gathering operation to monitor the movements of the Chinese fishing boats.
INVESTORS TAKE FRIGHT
The long-standing territorial dispute erupted last week when the Japanese government decided to nationalise some of the islands, buying them from a private Japanese owner.
Political analysts say China also upped the stakes last week when it announced precise boundaries for waters it claims around the islands, a move sure to raise pressure on Beijing to act when it accuses Japanese vessels of violating those boundaries.
The dispute has sent China-exposed Japanese stocks down heavily on the Tokyo stock market, raising concerns about any wider impact on economic and trade ties between the two countries. Platinum prices also
Be the first to comment.
