Diaoyu Islands (Japan: Senkaku Islands) are a group of small islands located between Taiwan and the Okinawa Prefecture of Japan. (Coordinate: 25°47′53″N 124°03′21″E). The territorial disputes over the Diaoyu Islands have once again became the news headline after a group of Chinese activists landed on the island to proclaim the Chinese sovereignty. The tension between China and Japan started to raise after the Japanese Maritime SDF arrested these activists. The foreign ministry of both China and Taiwan have condemned the Japanese activities in the surrounding waters of Diaoyu Islands since the Japanese occupation of Diaoyu Island. Most historical documents have shown the Chinese legitimacy over the Diaoyu Islands since the Ming Dynasty. The problem of Diaoyu Island is one of the unsolved territorial disputes caused by the World War II. A massive anti-Japanese protest and boycotting has triggered across China. Many people believed that this is the rise of Japanese imperialism.
The Diaoyu Islands were first discovered by the Chinese during the 15th century. The name "Diaoyu" means fishing in Chinese and that area has became an important fisheries ground for Chinese fisherman. According to the official record of Ming Dynasty, Diaoyu Islands were used as a major coordinate for the trading route between Fujian Province and the Ryukyu Kingdom, which is known as the Okinawa Prefecture in the present days. China gained back the administration of Taiwan after defecting the Dutch colonists during the early period of Qing Dynasty. On the official maps published by the Qing Dynasty, Diaoyu Islands were marked as the the subsidiary islands of Taiwan. Japan annexed Taiwan and its subsidiary islands under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895 and ruled the area for 50 years until the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II in 1945.
According to the Cairo Declaration in 1943, Japan has returned Taiwan and other Japanese occupied regions across China to the former Nationalist Government. However, the Diaoyu Islands and Okinawa Prefecture and were taken over by the U.S Government under the Treaty of San Francisco. During the period of American civil rules, oils and other valuable natural resources were discovered in the surrounding waters of Diaoyu Island. The Japanese government changed the name of the Island to "Senkaku Islands" after Japan resumes the control of Okinawa in 1972. Both People's Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan) protested against the Japanese action and started to officially claim the islands. Both government have shared the same point of views towards the Japanese. The government of Japan did not claim over the islands until they saw the economic values of these areas.
Since the 1970's, activists from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan have made several attempts to land on the Diaoyu Islands in order to proclaim the Chinese sovereignty. However, many attempts were blocked by the Japanese Marine SDF. A few fishing boats were also sank by the Japanese navies during the confrontations.
Concerning the disputes over the Diaoyu Islands, it is pretty obvious that China, as well as Taiwan, have the original ownership and legitimacy over the islands. Any Japanese activities and military garrisons should be considered illegal. China has vowed to defend the territory if necessary.
