At first sight, the uninhabited islands that the Japanese call Senkaku and the Chinese call Diaoyu, appear irrelevant. Looks can be deceiving. The conflict is not about the islands. They have virtually no strategic value. It is about the emerging balance of power between the two great powers in northeast Asia. China has been growing rapidly for thirty years and modernizing its military. Japan has been, not quite secretly, remilitarizing for a decade and has become a normal military power.
Chinese Grand-Strategy
Chinese Grand-Strategy
Chinese Grand-Strategy
At first sight, the uninhabited islands that the Japanese call Senkaku and the Chinese call Diaoyu, appear irrelevant. Looks can be deceiving. The conflict is not about the islands. They have virtually no strategic value. It is about the emerging balance of power between the two great powers in northeast Asia. China has been growing rapidly for thirty years and modernizing its military. Japan has been, not quite secretly, remilitarizing for a decade and has become a normal military power.