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Senkaku Islands

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This is about the Senkaku Islands. For other uses, see Senkaku (disambiguation).
For information regarding the dispute over the islands' sovereignty, see Senkaku Islands dispute.



Senkaku Islands
Map
Other namesTemplate:Lang-ja
Chinese: 釣魚台列嶼; Chinese: 钓鱼台群岛
Pinnacle Islands
Geography
LocationPacific Ocean
Coordinates25°47′53″N 124°03′21″E / 25.79806°N 124.05583°E / 25.79806; 124.05583
Administration
Japan

The Senkaku Islands (, Senkaku Shotō, variants: Senkaku-guntō[1] and Senkaku-rettō[2]), also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Diàoyútái Qúndǎo), or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. They are located roughly northeast of Taiwan, due west of Okinawa, and due north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands.

Japan controlled these islands from 1895 until her surrender at the end of WWII. The United States administered them as part of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands from 1945 until 1972, when they were reverted to Japan. Since 1971, they have been claimed by both the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China.

The islands are a major issue in foreign relations between Japan and the PRC and between Japan and the ROC. Despite the complexity of relations between the two states, both the governments of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and People's Republic of China agree that the islands are part of Taiwan as part of Taiwan Province, Toucheng Township in Yilan County. The Japanese government regards these islands as a part of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture.

Names

The first recorded name of the islands, Diaoyu, used in books such as Voyage with a Tail Wind (simplified Chinese: 顺风相送; traditional Chinese: 順風相送; pinyin: Shǜnfēng Xiāngsòng) and Record of the Imperial Envoy's Visit to Ryūkyū (simplified Chinese: 使琉球录; traditional Chinese: 使琉球錄; pinyin: Shĭ Liúqiú Lù) date to 1403 and 1534, respectively. Adopted by the Chinese Imperial Map of the Ming Dynasty, both the Chinese name for the island group (Diaoyu) and the Japanese name for the main island (Uotsuri) both literally mean "angling".

In 1884, the English name Pinnacle Islands was used by the British navy for the rocks adjacent to, but not including, the largest island Uotsuri Jima/Diaoyu Dao (then called Hoa-pin-su). Neither Kuba Jima/Huangwei Yu (then called Ti-a-usu) nor Taishō Jima/Chiwei Yu (then called "Raleigh Rock") were considered part of the Pinnacle Islands.[3][4][5] However, in recent years the name "Pinnacle Islands" has come to be used to refer to the entire island group, as an English-language equivalent to "Diaoyu" or "Senkaku".[6][7]

In 1900, when Tsune Kuroiwa, a teacher at the Okinawa Prefecture Normal School, visited the islands, he adopted the name Senkaku Retto (simplified Chinese: 尖阁列岛; traditional Chinese: 尖閣列島; pinyin: Jiāngéliè Dăo), literally Pinnacle Islands, to refer the whole island group, based on the British name.[8] The first official document recording the name Senkaku Retto was by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nihon Gaiko Monjo (日本外交文書, Documents on Japanese Foreign Relations) in the 1950s.[8] In Japanese, Sentō Shosho (尖頭諸嶼) and Senkaku Shosho (尖閣諸嶼) were translations used for these "Pinnacle Islands" by various Japanese sources. Subsequently, the entire island group (including Uotsuri Jima/Diaoyu Dao and all the others) came to be called Senkaku Rettō, which later evolved into Senkaku Shotō.[8]

Geography

Bei Xiaodao/Kita Kojima (left) and Nan Xiaodao/Minami Kojima (right)

The islands sit on the edge of the continental shelf of mainland Asia, and are separated from the Ryukyu Islands by the Okinawa Trough. They are 140 kilometers east of Pengjia Islet/Agincourt, Taiwan;[9] 170 kilometers (106 mi) north of Ishigaki Island, Japan; 186 km (116 mi) northeast of Keelung, Taiwan; and 410 km (255 mi) west of Okinawa Island.

Aerial view of Diaoyu Dao/Uotsuri Jima

Japan put these islets under the administration of Okinawa whereas the People's Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan) see it as a part of Taiwan.

Diaoyu Dao/Uotsuri Jima , the largest island, has a number of endemic species such as the Mogera uchidai and Okinawa-kuro-oo-ari ant, but these have become threatened by domestic goats that were introduced to the island in 1978 and whose population has increased to over 300 since that time.[10]

Amongst all islands, Nan Xiaodao/ Minami Kojima is one of the few breeding places of the rare Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus).

List of Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands
Chinese name Japanese name coordinates Area(km2) Highest elevation(m)
Diaoyu Dao (釣魚島[11]) Uotsuri Jima (魚釣島[12]) 25°46′N 123°31′E / 25.767°N 123.517°E / 25.767; 123.517 4.32 383[13]
Huangwei Yu (黃尾嶼[11]) Kuba Jima (久場島[12]) 25°56′N 123°41′E / 25.933°N 123.683°E / 25.933; 123.683 1.08 117[14]
Chiwei Yu (赤尾嶼[11]) Taishō Jima (大正島[12]) 25°55′N 124°34′E / 25.917°N 124.567°E / 25.917; 124.567 0.0609 75[15]
Nan Xiaodao(南小島) Minami Kojima (南小島) 25°45′N 123°36′E / 25.750°N 123.600°E / 25.750; 123.600 0.4592 149
Bei Xiaodao(北小島) Kita Kojima (北小島) 25°45′N 123°36′E / 25.750°N 123.600°E / 25.750; 123.600 0.3267 135[16]
Da Bei Xiaodao([大北小島] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |3= (help))[17] Okino Kitaiwa(沖ノ北岩) 25°49′N 123°36′E / 25.817°N 123.600°E / 25.817; 123.600 0.0183[18] -
Da Nan Xiaodao (大南小島)[19] Okino Minami-iwa(沖ノ南岩) 25°47′N 123°37′E / 25.783°N 123.617°E / 25.783; 123.617 0.0048[20] -
Fei Jiao Yan(飛礁岩)[21] Tobise (飛瀬) or
Tobishou (飛礁, (past name))
25°45′N 123°33′E / 25.750°N 123.550°E / 25.750; 123.550 0.0008[22] -

Territorial dispute


Historical events


See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Senkaku-guntō: Japan". Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  2. ^ "Senkaku-rettō: Japan". Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  3. ^ Findlay, A.G. (1889). A Directory for the Navigation of the Indian Archipelago and the Coast of China. London: Richard Holes Laurie. p. 1135.
  4. ^ Navigating Lieutenant Frederick W. Jarrad, R.N. (1873). The China Sea Directory, Vol IV. J.D.Potter for the Hydrographic Office, Admiralty, London. pp. 141–142. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  5. ^ Unryu Suganuma (2000). Sovereign Rights and Territorial Space in Sino-Japanese Relations. University of Hawaii Press. p. 95. ISBN 0824824938. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  6. ^ Hagström, L. (2005). Japan's China Policy: A Relational Power Analysis. Oxford: Routledge.
  7. ^ Seokwoo Lee (2002). "Territorial Disputes among Japan, China and Taiwan concerning the Senkaku Islands". Boundary and Territory Briefing, Vol 3 No. 7. International Boundaries Research Unit. p. 1. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  8. ^ a b c Unryu Suganuma (2000). Sovereign Rights and Territorial Space in Sino-Japanese Relations. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 89–97. ISBN 0824824938.
  9. ^ "Breeding site details: Agincourt/P'eng-chia-Hsu". Welcome to ACAP - Data Portal. Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels. Retrieved 27 september 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ Yokohata, Y. (1999). "Urgent appeal for the conservation of the natural environment in Uotsuri-jima Island in Senkaku Islands, Japan". Recent advances in the biology of Japanese Insectivora. Proceedings of the Symposium on the biology of insectivores in Japan and on the wildlife conservation. Laboratory of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Education, Toyama University. pp. 79–87. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (|book-title= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ a b c "钓鱼诸屿名称变异表" (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original (Doc) on Unknown date. Retrieved 2009-01-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)
  12. ^ a b c 鞠, 德源. "第十一章 日本国窃踞中国海洋国土篇 - (16) 日本国窃土前后(窃土→放弃窃土→窃土再占)岛屿名称变异综览表" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  13. ^ [1] Diaoyu Islands / Senkaku Islands map 1, Geography Institution of National territory, Japan
  14. ^ [2] Diaoyu Islands / Senkaku Islands map 2, Geography Institution of National territory, Japan
  15. ^ [3] Diaoyu Islands / Senkaku Islands map 3, Geography Institution of National territory, Japan
  16. ^ [4] Diaoyu Islands / Senkaku Islands map 4, Geography Institution of National territory, Japan
  17. ^ Japanese Map 5
  18. ^ Diaoyu Islands / Senkaku Islands map 5, Geography Institution of National territory, Japan
  19. ^ Japanese Map 7
  20. ^ [5] Diaoyu Islands / Senkaku Islands map 6, Geography Institution of National territory, Japan
  21. ^ Japanese Map 8
  22. ^ [6] Diaoyu Islands / Senkaku Islands map 6, Geography Institution of National territory, Japan

References