1. Islands

Category Archives: Islands

Chinese and Japanese ships cluster around disputed islands

Posted on by

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Hong Kong (CNN) -- The fragile relationship between China and Japan came under fresh strain Tuesday as ships from both sides crowded into the waters around a disputed group of islands and nearly 170 Japanese lawmakers visited a controversial war memorial.

The Japanese Coast Guard said eight Chinese government ships had entered waters near the contested islands in the East China Sea on Tuesday morning, the largest number to do so at any one time since tensions surrounding the territorial dispute escalated last year. China said its ships were there to monitor the movements of Japanese vessels in the area after a Japanese nationalist group chartered a flotilla of fishing boats to take dozens of activists there.

The Japanese foreign ministry responded by summoning the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo to lodge a strong protest about the Chinese ships' presence near the uninhabited islands that lie between Okinawa and Taiwan and are known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. The Chinese ambassador, Cheng Yonghua, retorted that it was the Japanese vessels that were intruding in Chinese territory.

Will radar-rattling turn to conflict?

A day earlier, Beijing had protested to Tokyo about a visit at the weekend by three Japanese cabinet ministers to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which honors Japanese people killed while fighting for their country, including convicted war criminals.

Countries that suffered heavily at the hands of the Japanese military before and during World War II, such as China and South Korea, consider the shrine as an emblem of that aggressive period in Japanese history.

But China's representations failed to deter 168 Japanese members of parliament from visiting the shrine on Tuesday to pay their respects to the war dead, the most to do so in recent years.

How a remote rock split China and Japan

New men in charge

Go here to read the rest:

Chinese and Japanese ships cluster around disputed islands

Minecraft: The Islands of Junara 2 w/Softcore2 – Episode 27 – Pig farms and Slime Parties – Video

Posted on by


Minecraft: The Islands of Junara 2 w/Softcore2 - Episode 27 - Pig farms and Slime Parties
READ* Welcome to the Islands of Junara (2) Sky Survival map. The goal of the map is to complete the MONUMENT by building to floating islands and scouring th...

By: Shibloble

Go here to read the rest:

Minecraft: The Islands of Junara 2 w/Softcore2 - Episode 27 - Pig farms and Slime Parties - Video

Solomon Islands Keen to Bolster Relationship with Britain

Posted on by

Solomon Islands Keen to Bolster Relationship with Britain

Solomon Islands is keen to bolster its relationship with Great Britain after 35 years of Independence.

Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo made the announcement during a meeting with Britains Minister of State Mr Hugo Swire in Honiara Friday last week saying the Government is considering opening a High Commission Office in London.

During the meeting Prime Minister Lilo assured Britain of the governments commitment to rejuvenate its relationship with London.

To revitalize the relationship with the Britain, my Government, is considering the possibility of opening a high commission in London and to stay closer to the Commonwealth, Mr Lilo said.

In response, Mr. Swire has assured Prime Minister Lilo that Britain stands ready to support Solomon Islands of its intention to establish a mission in London.

He re-iterated that Solomon Islands and the Britain have a lot in common pointing to the Queen as the head of the two countries and both are members of the Commonwealth.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lilo said he was happy to see a British minister visiting the Solomon Islands exactly 10 years after the last visit of a minister from Great Britain.

He said unlike 10 years ago a lot has changed in the Solomon Islands and the economic outlook as predicted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)for this year is positive.

Mr. Lilo also took the opportunity to brief Mr. Swire of the latest developments within Solomon Islands.

Go here to read the rest:

Solomon Islands Keen to Bolster Relationship with Britain

Japanese nationalists approach disputed islands as tensions rise

Posted on by

By Ruairidh Villar

EAST CHINA SEA (Reuters) - A flotilla of boats carrying more than 80 Japanese nationalists arrived on Tuesday in waters near disputed islands at the centre of tensions between China and Japan, risking further straining Tokyo's already tense relations with its Asian neighbors.

The boats were shadowed by at least 10 Japanese Coast Guard vessels, the organizers said, while three Chinese government surveillance ships moved near the islands, according to the JCG.

Last year members of the same group landed on one of the islets and triggered anti-Japanese protests in China, while lingering regional friction over Japan's wartime aggression also resurfaced in the last few days.

South Korea's foreign minister on Monday canceled a trip to Tokyo and Beijing blasted Japan for a lack of contrition over its past after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made an offering to a shrine seen as a symbol of Japan's former militarism.

The nationalist Ganbare Nippon ("Stand Firm, Japan") group said the flotilla of 10 boats would sail around the rocky East China Sea islets to survey fishing grounds, and that it did not plan to land there.

It gave the same assurances when it sponsored a similar trip last August, during which about 10 activists landed on one of the islets, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

"This is all about asserting our ownership of the islands, going there to conduct a fishing survey to prove that Japanese fishermen can indeed make a living there," said group leader Satoru Mizushima.

"With all the provocations coming from China, we've adopted the policy that we will not land on the islands before the upper house elections (expected in July), to avoid making the diplomatic situation worse."

Tit-for-tat landings by Chinese and Japanese nationalists last summer preceded a sharp flare-up in the dispute when Japan nationalized the islands in September, drawing angry rhetoric from Beijing and anti-Japanese demonstrations across China.

Original post:

Japanese nationalists approach disputed islands as tensions rise

Japan vows force if Chinese land on disputed islands

Posted on by

Japan's prime minister vowed Tuesday to "expel by force" any Chinese landing on islands at the centre of a territorial row, after eight Chinese government vessels sailed into the disputed waters.

The latest clash over the archipelago upped the stakes in a tense diplomatic battle as nearly 170 Japanese lawmakers visited the controversial Yasukuni war shrine in central Tokyo, seen as a potent symbol of Japan's imperialist past, riling its neighbours China and South Korea.

Tokyo summoned the Chinese ambassador to Japan after the state-owned Chinese ships entered its territorial waters while Beijing called the shrine visit an "attempt to deny Japan's history of aggression".

The flotilla is the biggest to sail into the disputed waters in a single day since Tokyo nationalised part of the island chain in September.

The islands are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and are believed to harbour vast natural resources below the seabed.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to "expel by force" any Chinese landing on the islands in the East China Sea, and promised "decisive action".

"We would never allow a landing," Abe told parliament in response to questions from lawmakers, adding: "It would be natural for us to expel by force if (the Chinese) were to make a landing," he said.

Chinese ships have frequently sailed around the five Tokyo-controlled islands in recent months sparking diplomatic clashes.

The Chinese maritime surveillance ships entered the 12-nautical-mile zone off the islands, which China calls Diaoyu and Japan calls the Senkaku, around 8:00 am (2300 GMT Monday), the Japan Coast Guard said.

"It is extremely deplorable and unacceptable that Chinese government ships are repeatedly entering Japanese territorial waters," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

Read more here:

Japan vows force if Chinese land on disputed islands

Japan nationalists close to islands disputed by China

Posted on by

By Ruairidh Villar

EAST CHINA SEA (Reuters) - A flotilla of boats carrying more than 80 Japanese nationalists arrived on Tuesday in waters near disputed islands at the centre of tensions between China and Japan, risking further straining Tokyo's fraught relations with its Asian neighbors.

The boats were shadowed by at least 10 Japanese Coast Guard vessels, while three Chinese government surveillance ships moved near the islands, according to the JCG.

Last year members of the same group landed on one of the islets and triggered anti-Japanese protests in China, while lingering regional friction over Japan's wartime aggression also resurfaced in recent days.

South Korea's foreign minister on Monday cancelled a trip to Tokyo and Beijing blasted Japan for a lack of contrition over its past after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made an offering to a shrine seen as a symbol of Japan's former militarism.

The nationalist Ganbare Nippon ("Stand Firm, Japan") group said the flotilla of 10 boats would sail around the rocky East China Sea islets to survey fishing grounds, and that it did not plan to land there.

It gave the same assurances when it sponsored a similar trip last August, during which about 10 activists landed on one of the islets, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

"This is all about asserting our ownership of the islands, going there to conduct a fishing survey to prove that Japanese fishermen can indeed make a living there," said group leader Satoru Mizushima.

"With all the provocations coming from China, we've adopted the policy that we will not land on the islands before the upper house elections (expected in July), to avoid making the diplomatic situation worse."

Tit-for-tat landings by Chinese and Japanese nationalists last summer preceded a sharp flare-up in the dispute when Japan nationalized the islands in September, drawing angry rhetoric from Beijing and anti-Japanese demonstrations across China.

Go here to see the original:

Japan nationalists close to islands disputed by China

Japan warns China on islands landing

Posted on by

23 April 2013 Last updated at 03:19 ET

Japan would respond with force if any attempt is made to land on disputed islands, PM Shinzo Abe has warned.

His comments came as eight Chinese government ships sailed near East China Sea islands that both nations claim.

A flotilla of 10 fishing boats carrying Japanese activists was also reported to be in the area, as well as the Japanese coastguard.

Mr Abe was speaking in parliament hours after dozens of lawmakers visited a controversial war-linked shrine.

A total of 168 lawmakers paid their respects at the Yasukuni Shrine, which commemorates Japan's war dead, including war criminals, in a move likely to anger regional neighbours who say the shrine is a reminder of Japan's military past.

The warning from the Japanese prime minister was the most explicit to China since Mr Abe took power in December, the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports from Tokyo.

Asked in parliament what he would do if Chinese ships tried to land on the disputed islands, Mr Abe said they would be expelled by force.

"Since it has become the Abe government, we have made sure that if there is an instance where there is an intrusion into our territory or it seems that there could be landing on the islands then we will deal will it strongly," he said.

The warning came as eight Chinese ships sailed around the islands - called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

Read more:

Japan warns China on islands landing

China, Japan face off over islands

Posted on by

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Hong Kong (CNN) -- The fragile relationship between China and Japan came under fresh strain Tuesday as ships from both sides crowded into the waters around a disputed group of islands and nearly 170 Japanese lawmakers visited a controversial war memorial.

The Japanese Coast Guard said eight Chinese government ships had entered waters near the contested islands in the East China Sea on Tuesday morning, the largest number to do so at any one time since tensions surrounding the territorial dispute escalated last year. China said its ships were there to monitor the movements of Japanese vessels in the area after a Japanese nationalist group chartered a flotilla of fishing boats to take dozens of activists there.

The Japanese foreign ministry responded by summoning the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo to lodge a strong protest about the Chinese ships' presence near the uninhabited islands that lie between Okinawa and Taiwan and are known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.

A day earlier, Beijing had made its own protest to Tokyo about a visit at the weekend by three Japanese cabinet ministers to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which honors Japanese people killed while fighting for their country, including convicted war criminals.

Countries that suffered heavily at the hands of the Japanese military before and during World War II, such as China and South Korea, consider the shrine as an emblem of that aggressive period in Japanese history.

But China's representations failed to deter 168 Japanese members of parliament from visiting the shrine on Tuesday to pay their respects to the war dead, the most to do so in recent years.

New men in charge

New leaders have taken office in both countries in the past few months: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan and President Xi Jinping in China. They inherited a highly delicate situation concerning the disputed islands that analysts have warned could spiral out of control -- a concern for the United States, which has a mutual security treaty with Japan.

"Despite expressions by both governments that they wish to avoid a war, potential for escalation has increased and there is deepening pessimism on both sides over the prospects of a peaceful settlement," the International Crisis Group said in a report this month on the tensions between Japan and China.

See more here:

China, Japan face off over islands

Cash-Strapped Greece Sells off Palaces and Islands

Posted on by

Idyllic islands, spectacular stretches of coastline, marinas and even a London embassy have been put on the market in the latest fire-sale by the bankrupt Greek government.

As the condition of the new 8.8 billion bailout instalment from the Troika of the EU, the IMF and the European Central Bank, 70,000 state-owned assets will have to be sold off as the government struggles to boost revenue.

Among the eye-catching items on the list are large swathes of the island of Rhodes, which has remained one-third state-owned since it was re-integrated into Greece following the Italian occupation of 1912.

One of them is the Mandraki marina, once the site of the famous Colossus of Rhodes, a 98-foot statue that bestrode the harbour entrance and was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Foreign oligarchs have already been snapping up Aegean islands.

The Emir of Qatar recently bought six islands for 7 million, whilst Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev bought Skorpios, once owned by shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, as a present for his 24-year-old socialite daughter.

Also to go under the hammer is the Royal Palace of Corfu, birthplace of Prince Philip, and numerous other state buildings, including the police headquarters in Athens, the ministry of culture, as well as the buildings that house the ministries of health, education and justice.

The Greek Embassy in Holland Park, London, is also on offer to anyone able to meet the 22m price tag.

Many of the assets have not been publicly priced, with the Greek government saying it is awaiting offers, but expects to generate from 150m-250m for the 150-hectare Afandou estate in Rhodes.

Excerpt from:

Cash-Strapped Greece Sells off Palaces and Islands

Norway's Ruling Party Backs Oil Drilling around Arctic Islands

Posted on by

Norway took a major step towards opening up an environmentally sensitive Arctic area to oil and gas exploration when the ruling Labour Party gave the go-ahead on Sunday for an impact study.

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway took a major step towards opening up an environmentally sensitive Arctic area to oil and gas exploration when the ruling Labour Party gave the go-ahead on Sunday for an impact study.

Exploration in the waters around the Lofoten islands just above the Arctic circle is becoming one of the most contentious issues for parliamentary elections in September.

The picturesque area had been off limits because it is home to the world's richest cod stocks, with environmental groups and the tourism industry opposed to any development.

The Labour party voted for the study, a precursor to any exploration, but also said it would take another vote in 2015, before actual drilling could begin.

Oil is the Norwegian economy's lifeblood - the nation is the world's seventh-biggest oil exporter and western Europe's biggest gas supplier.

Its sprawling offshore energy sector continuously needs new areas to explore to halt the decline in production and energy firms have argued that they should be allowed to investigate the Lofoten islands.

Norway's oil production will fall to a 25-year low this year as North Sea fields mature. Even a series of recent big finds, like the giant Johan Sverdrup field, which could hold over 3 billion barrels of oil, will only arrest the decline.

Waters off Lofoten are estimated to hold 8 percent of Norway's undiscovered oil and gas resources with seismic tests identifying 50 prospects that could hold recoverable reserves or around 1.27 billion barrels of oil equivalent, the petroleum directorate said earlier.

With Labour's support, Norway's top three parties now favor exploration in the area, raising the chance that the next government would begin the process.

Read more here:

Norway's Ruling Party Backs Oil Drilling around Arctic Islands


  1. Islands