News China calling Japan selfish over island claims

The uninhabited territory consists of low-lying rocks that have been augmented with concrete by Japan, in a precursor to similar but more ambitious projects undertaken by China in the South China Sea. Tokyo's local government, which administers Okinotori, says the associated exclusive economic zone amounts to 420,000 square kilometers (162,000 square miles), larger than Japan's total land mass. Recognition of Japan's claims could potentially constrain China's naval activities in the area. Beijing has stepped up surveys of surrounding waters and its scholars recently published a number of reports disputing Japan's analysis, according to the Sankei newspaper. "China might feel that it's got the international law on its side," said Euan Graham, a senior fellow at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, who called Japan's claims over the waters around Okinotori "laughable. Clearly it is cherry picking the things that embarrass the countries that it wants to embarrass and there is a clear double standard with what it's doing in the South China Sea," he added, referring to China.

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thomas said:

Japan should just pour millions of tonnes of concrete over the reef and built a runway...

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johnnyG said:

And, once it had been started and progress made, after the logistics and other important aspects of such a project had been smoothed out and assimilated, quickly do the same thing to the senkaku islands.

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