The Anti-Japanese Protests in China

Chrenkoff has some good thoughts on the anti-Japanese protests that were undoubtedly planned by the Chinese government. The failure of Japan to issue an apology for its World War II is the canard for the media. The Chinese, like the Japanese, have also ignored history to present a different view to its own citizens.

The true reasons for the government-encouraged protests are quite different and have to do with Japan's recent support fot the U.S.' protection of Taiwan in the event of an attack by China. While the NY Times has a good Q&A on the Chinese-Japanese dispute, I believe it misses one key point.

Japan recently reiterated its claim to the strategically valuable Senkaku/Diaoyutai Islands, which are just 6.3 square km in area. There is surely economic value for both fishing and oil, as Japan last week Ok'd a decision to begin drilling around the islands. More importantly, however, the islands are within a key waterway that would prove to be very important to the U.S. in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.

As Belmont Club notes in a great post, the waterway around the islands would provide for effective China attack submarine capabilities in the event of military attacks. Whoever controls this key area could use the waterway to blockade any shipments to the opposing country and effect the use of naval power.

The US intelligence community has reported that since 2001, the Chinese shipbuilding industry has produced 23 new amphibious assault ships and 13 conventional attack submarines. ... The PLA Navy (PLAN) is rapidly transforming itself from a coastal force into a bluewater naval power with a force modernisation drive that is unprecedented in the post-Cold War era.

Don't be fooled - these protests have nothing to do with a Japanese apology for World War II, despite what the media might say.