Resource island wars

Senkaku Islands relative to Japan and China, Taiwan also staking a claim to the islands

Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese nationalists ranging from college students to elderly have joined their governments' claim to the islands. Protests have been held on the islands with each country waving their flag the international symbol of territorial claim to new lands.

The troublesome islands from an aerial view from Guardian Newspaper

Citizens' protests over Senkaku

Once again China and Japan are flexing their military might and muscles over the resource rich islands Senkaku Islands known as the Diaoyu Islands in China. The island is vacant but is rich in oil, gas and other minerals that both Japan and China need for their respective peoples and economies. Instead of sharing the island as would seem to the practical solution to the unending nationalistic and now air defense show of force, both countries continue to scramble to claim their piece of the rocky territory. Taiwan has joined both countries in claiming the heavily disputed island for its own nationalistic ambitions. In addition to the Sekaku Islands, all three countries including Phillipines and Vietnam are now claiming more resource rich islands located in the South China Sea for their own respective countries. China insists that the islands in South China Sea belong to mainland China. The islands are closer to the mainland and Taiwan when compared to the other countries making a claim to it. Chinese officials have refused to give up their claims for the Senkaku islands also well as the South China Sea islands. It is nearly a hundred years since the start of the First World War and once again countries are flexing their military muscles warning their neighbors to back off. Its also been 105 years since the Sino-Russian War, another precursor that was much about each country having immediate and equal access to water ways and trade without competition from other nations in the region.

Japanese Air force above the island