With the December 2012 election of the Abe administration in Japan, the East Asian region has seen an intensification of the territorial claims and counterclaims to islands, islets, and rocks scattered across the East China Sea, Yellow Sea, the Japan Sea and the South China Sea. Claims to territories have been made by Japan, China, and Taiwan regarding the Senkakus/Diaoyu islands, Japan and South Korea regarding the Dokdo/Takeshima islands, and China, the Philippines and Vietnam regarding small islands in the South China Sea. The territorial claims have been accompanied by nationalist statements and actions by citizens groups and government officials. Citing military alliances, Japan has brought the US into its disputes over the Senkakus/Diaoyu, while the US has made moves threatening to intervene in the South China Seas clashes and playing up the US-China conflict.

Gavan McCormack is an emeritus professor of the Australian National University and a coordinator of The Asia-Pacific Journal.

*Photo credit: David Bandurski, “The flag that launched 1,000 headaches,” China Media Project, 16 August 2012.