View source for Senkaku Islands

{{Short description|Islands disputed between Japan, China and Taiwan}}
{{Redirect|Diaoyutai|the Chinese state guesthouse|Diaoyutai State Guesthouse}}
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox islands
| disputed                   = yes
| name                       = Senkaku Islands
| plural                     = yes
| other_names                = Diaoyu Islands / Diaoyutai Islands / Pinnacle Islands
| image_name                 = Diaoyutai senkaku.png
| image_size                 = 320px
| image_caption              = Location of the islands (yellow rectangle and inset)
| image_map                  = Senkaku Diaoyu Tiaoyu Islands.png
| location                   = [[Pacific Ocean]]
| coordinates                = {{Coord|25|44|42|N|123|29|06|E|region:XP_type:isle|display=inline,title}}
| total_islands              = 5 + 3 rocks (reefs)
| major_islands              = {{Plainlist|
* Uotsuri-shima / Diaoyu Dao
* Taishō-tō / Chiwei Yu
* Kuba-shima / Huangwei Yu
* Kita-Kojima / Bei Xiaodao
* Minami-Kojima / Nan Xiaodao
}}
| area_km2                   = 7
| elevation_m                = 383
| country                    = {{JAP}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/23/china-airspace-restrictions-japanese-senkaku |title=China imposes airspace restrictions over Japan-controlled Senkaku islands |access-date = December 3, 2013 |author=The Guardian |website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=November 23, 2013 |quote=China imposes airspace restrictions over Japan-controlled Senkaku islands |author-link = The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20131126-us-air-force-flies-over-disputed-islands |title=US defies China to fly over disputed Senkaku islands |access-date=December 3, 2013 |author=France24 |date=November 27, 2013 |quote=The zone covers the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands |author-link=France24 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225074922/https://www.france24.com/en/20131126-us-air-force-flies-over-disputed-islands%20 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| country_admin_divisions_title = City
| country_admin_divisions    = [[Ishigaki, Okinawa|Ishigaki]], [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]]
| country1                   = {{TWN}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mofa.gov.tw/Home/ListOnecolumn2/6e83b95d-6426-4bbc-8c19-074d9c540328 |script-title=zh:釣魚臺列嶼相關文獻 |publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan)]] |language=zh |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024143042/http://www.mofa.gov.tw/Home/ListOnecolumn2/6e83b95d-6426-4bbc-8c19-074d9c540328 |archive-date=October 24, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://toucheng.e-land.gov.tw/cp.aspx?n=616B0FE61248A57D|script-title=zh:地理位置圖|language=zh-tw|access-date=19 October 2019|website={{lang|zh-tw|宜蘭縣頭城鎮公所}} Toucheng Township Office|quote={{lang|zh-tw|另轄兩小島（龜山島及龜卵嶼）及一群島（釣魚臺列嶼）。}}|archive-date=July 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707123213/https://toucheng.e-land.gov.tw/cp.aspx?n=616B0FE61248A57D|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://taiwandiaoyutaiislands.tw/CH/News.aspx |script-title=zh:我們的釣魚臺 |publisher=[[Central News Agency (Republic of China)]] |language=zh |access-date=May 24, 2014 |archive-date=January 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114001330/http://taiwandiaoyutaiislands.tw/CH/News.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| country1_admin_divisions_title = Township
| country1_admin_divisions   = [[Toucheng|Toucheng Township]], [[Yilan County, Taiwan]]
| country2                   = {{CHN}}<ref name="钓鱼岛白皮书">{{cite news |author=中华人民共和国国务院新闻办公室|script-title=zh:《钓鱼岛是中国的固有领土》白皮书 |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-09/25/c_113202698.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927113700/http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-09/25/c_113202698.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 27, 2012 |publisher=新华社 |date=2012-09-25 |quote=1871年......将钓鱼岛列入海防冲要，隶属台湾府噶玛兰厅（今台湾省宜兰县）管辖。 |language=zh}}</ref>
| country2_admin_divisions_title = County
| country2_admin_divisions   = [[Yilan County, Taiwan|Yilan County]], [[Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China|Taiwan]]
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| title = Senkaku Islands
| s = 钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿
| t = 釣魚島及其附屬島嶼
| p = Diàoyúdǎo jí qí fùshǔ dǎoyǔ
| w = {{Tone superscript|Tiao4-yü2-tao3 chi2 ch'i2 fu4-shu3 tao3-yü3}}
| bpmf = ㄉㄧㄠˋ ㄩˊ ㄉㄠˇ ㄐㄧˊ ㄑㄧˊ ㄈㄨˋ ㄕㄨˇ ㄉㄠˇ ㄩˇ
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|d|iao|4|yu|2|d|ao|3|-|j|i|2|-|q|i|2|-|f|u|4|sh|u|3|-|d|ao|3|yu|3}}
| l = Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands
<!-- Diaoyutai -->
| altname = Taiwanese name
| t2 = 釣魚臺列嶼
| s2 = 钓鱼台列屿
| w2 = {{Tone superscript|Tiao4-yü2-t'ai2 lieh4 yü3}}
| p2 = Diàoyútái liè yǔ
| bpmf2 = ㄉㄧㄠˋ ㄩˊ ㄊㄞˊ ㄌㄧㄝˋ ㄩˇ
| mi2 = {{IPAc-cmn|d|iao|4|yu|2|t|ai|2|-|l|ie|4|-|yu|3}}
| l2 = Diaoyutai / Tiaoyutai Islands
<!-- Senkaku Islands -->
| shinjitai = 尖閣諸島
| hiragana = せんかくしょとう
| revhep = Senkaku-shotō
| kunrei = Senkaku-syotô
}}

The '''Senkaku Islands''',{{efn|{{langx|ja|尖閣諸島}}, {{transliteration|ja|Senkaku-shotō}}; variants: {{lang|ja|尖閣群島}}, {{transliteration|ja|Senkaku-guntō}};<ref name="Senkaku-guntō, Japan">National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, [http://geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-368031&fid=3261&c=japan Senkaku-guntō, Japan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630045719/http://geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-368031&fid=3261&c=japan |date=June 30, 2017 }}, retrieved September 20, 2010.</ref> and {{lang|ja|尖閣列島}}, {{transliteration|ja|Senkaku-rettō}}<ref name="Senkaku-rettō, Japan">National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, [http://geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-368032&fid=3261&c=japan Senkaku-rettō, Japan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409191958/https://geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-368032&fid=3261&c=japan |date=April 9, 2023 }}, retrieved September 20, 2010.</ref>}} known as the '''Diaoyu Islands'''{{efn|{{lang-zh|s=钓鱼岛}}}} in [[China]] and the '''Diaoyutai Islands'''{{efn|{{lang-zh|t=釣魚臺列嶼}}}} in [[Taiwan]], are a group of uninhabited islands in the [[East China Sea]], administered by Japan. They were historically known in the [[Western world]] as the '''Pinnacle Islands'''. The islands are located northeast of [[Geography of Taiwan|Taiwan]], east of [[China]], west of [[Okinawa Island]], and north of the southwestern end of the [[Ryukyu Islands]].

The islands are the focus of [[Senkaku Islands dispute|a territorial dispute]] between [[Japan]], [[China]] and [[Taiwan]].<ref>McDorman, Ted L. (2005). "Central Pacific and East Asian Maritime Boundaries" in {{Google books|RN0GnOcw0McC|''International Maritime Boundaries'', Vol. 5, pp. 3441.|page=3441}}</ref> China claims the discovery and ownership of the islands from the 14th century, while Japan maintained ownership of the islands from 1895 until its surrender at the end of [[World War II]]. The United States received administrative rights of the islands from Japan under the [[Treaty of San Francisco]] and administered the islands as part of the [[United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands]] from 1945 until 1972, before returning them to Japanese control under the [[Okinawa Reversion Agreement]].<ref>Lee, Seokwoo. (2002). {{Google books|MZGsi1ptLvoC|''Territorial Disputes Among Japan, China and Taiwan Concerning the Senkaku Islands'', pp. 10–13.|page=10}}</ref> The discovery of potential undersea oil reserves in 1968 in the area was a catalyst for further interest in the disputed islands.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZGsi1ptLvoC&pg=PA6 |title=Territorial Disputes among Japan, China and Taiwan concerning the Senkaku Islands (Boundary & Territory Briefing Vol.3 No.7) |first=Seokwoo |last=Lee |publisher=IBRU |isbn=1897643500 |page=6 |quote=The question of the disputed Senkaku Islands remained relatively dormant throughout the 1950s and 1960s, probably because these small uninhabited islands held little interest for the three claimants. The Senkaku Islands issue was not raised until the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (hereinafter 'ECAFE') of the United Nations Economic and Social Council suggested the possible existence of large hydrocarbon deposit in the waters off the Senkaku Islands. ... This development prompted vehement statements and counter-statements among the claimants. |year=2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5_1y5fLm5eUC&q=senkaku%20oil&pg=PA140 |title=Toward a New Framework for Peaceful Settlement of China's Territorial and Boundary Disputes |first=Junwu |last=Pan |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |year=2009 |page=140 |isbn=978-9004174283 |quote=Obviously, primarily regional interests in oil and gas resources that may lie under the seas drive the two major disputes. The Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands issue did not re-surface until 1969 when the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East of the United Nations Economic and Social Council reported that the continental shelf of the East China "might contain one of the most prolific oil and gas reservoirs of the world, possibly comparing favourably with the Persian Gulf." Then both China and Japan had high expectations that there might be large hydrocarbon deposits in the waters off the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. The Law of the Sea at that time emphasized the theory of natural prolongation in determining continental shelf jurisdiction. Ownership of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands would permit the owner to a large area of the continental shelf that may have rich sources of gas and oil. Such a dispute is obviously related to the awakening interest by the world's states in developing offshore energy resources to meet the demand of their economies. |access-date=2020-10-03 |archive-date=2024-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193601/https://books.google.com/books?id=5_1y5fLm5eUC&q=senkaku%20oil&pg=PA140#v=snippet&q=senkaku%20oil&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cvm9EzEcm3kC&q=senkaku%20oil&pg=PA129 |title=Japan's Development Aid to China, Volume 200: The Long-running Foreign Policy of Engagement |first=Tsukasa |last=Takamine |publisher=Routledge |year=2012 |isbn=978-0415352031 |quote=The islands had temporarily come under American control after the Second World War, but the sovereignty over the islands, was handed over to Japan in 1972 with the reversion of Okinawa．However, the PRC and ROC governments both made a territorial claim to the Senkaku Islands, soon after the United Nation Economic Commission issued in 1969 a report suggesting considerable reserve of submarine oil and gas resources around the islands. |page=129 |access-date=2020-10-03 |archive-date=2024-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193601/https://books.google.com/books?id=cvm9EzEcm3kC&q=senkaku%20oil&pg=PA129 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4QJ9LPCTLRMC&q=senkaku+oil&pg=PA49 |title=Japan's Security Relations with China Since 1989: From Balancing to Bandwagoning? |first=Reinhard |last=Drifte |publisher=Routledge |year=2012 |isbn=978-1134406678 |quote=The dispute surfaced with the publication of a seismic survey report under the auspices of the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECSFE) in 1968, which mentioned the possibility of huge oil and gas reserves in the area; this was confirmed by a Japanese report in 1969. Greg Austin mentions that Beijing started its claim to the Senkaku Islands for the first time in 1970, after Japanese government protested to the government in Taiwan about its allocation of oil concessions in the East China Sea, including the area of the Senkaku Islands. |page=49 |access-date=2020-10-03 |archive-date=2024-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193647/https://books.google.com/books?id=4QJ9LPCTLRMC&q=senkaku+oil&pg=PA49#v=snippet&q=senkaku%20oil&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZGsi1ptLvoC&pg=PA10 |title=Territorial Disputes among Japan, China and Taiwan concerning the Senkaku Islands (Boundary & Territory Briefing Vol.3 No.7) |first=Seokwoo |last=Lee |publisher=IBRU |isbn=1897643500 |pages=10–11 |quote=For a long time following the entry into force of the San Francisco Peace Treaty China/Taiwan raised no objection to the fact that the Senkaku Islands were included in the area placed under US administration in accordance with the provisions of Article of the treaty, and USCAP No. 27. In fact, neither China nor Taiwan had taken up the question of sovereignty over the islands until the latter half of 1970 when evidence relating to the existence of oil resources deposited in the East China Sea surfaced. All this clearly indicates that China/Taiwan had not regarded the Senkaku Islands as a part of Taiwan. Thus, for Japan, none of the alleged historical, geographical and geological arguments set forth by China/Taiwan are acceptable as valid under international law to substantiate China's territorial claim over the Senkaku Islands. |year=2002 |access-date=2015-10-18 |archive-date=2024-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193712/https://books.google.com/books?id=MZGsi1ptLvoC&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite the [[Cross-Strait relations|diplomatic stalemate]] between China and Taiwan, both governments agree that the islands are part of Taiwan as part of [[Toucheng, Yilan|Toucheng Township]] in [[Yilan County, Taiwan|Yilan County]]. Japan administers the Senkaku islands as part of the city of [[Ishigaki, Okinawa|Ishigaki]] in [[Okinawa Prefecture]]. It does not acknowledge the claims of China nor Taiwan, but it has not allowed the Ishigaki administration to develop the islands.

As a result of the dispute, public access to the uninhabited islands is restricted; Japan’s central government has denied landing requests even from local authorities.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ishigaki city denied permit to land on Senkaku Islands |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14454528 |work=The Asahi Shimbun |date=2021-10-05 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> Although the islands are administered by Japan since 1895, a continuity interrupted only by US administration from 1945 to 1972, this long-standing status quo has been increasingly challenged by China since 2010s;<ref name=":6">{{cite web |date=2013 |title=A Sino–Japanese Clash in the East China Sea |url=https://www.cfr.org/report/sino-japanese-clash-east-china-sea |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=Council on Foreign Relations}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2021-07-30 |title=Sino-Japanese controversy over the Senkaku/Diaoyu/Diaoyutai Islands |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2021/696183/EPRS_BRI(2021)696183_EN.pdf |access-date=2025-09-19 |publisher=European Parliamentary Research Service}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2022-11-30 |title=The Senkaku Islands |url=https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/ryodo_eg/img/data/pamph-senkaku.pdf |access-date=2025-09-19 |publisher=Cabinet Secretariat, Government of Japan}}</ref> Since the early 2010s, [[China Coast Guard]] have frequently entered the surrounding waters of the islands, prompting responses and exchanges of warnings with the [[Japan Coast Guard]].<ref>{{cite news |date=2024-04-12 |title=China, Japan coast guards patrol disputed East China Sea waters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-japan-coast-guards-patrol-disputed-east-china-sea-waters-2024-04-12/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |work=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Takahashi |first=Kosuke |date=2025-01-02 |title=China Sets Record for Activity Near Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in 2024 |url=https://thediplomat.com/2025/01/china-sets-record-for-activity-near-senkaku-diaoyu-islands-in-2024/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |work=The Diplomat}}</ref> China has also announced [[Baseline (sea)|territorial-sea baselines]] (2012) and established an [[Air Defense Identification Zone (East China Sea) |East China Sea ADIZ]] (2013), all of which are contested by Japan.<ref>{{cite news |title=China, Japan coast guards patrol disputed East China Sea waters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-japan-coast-guards-patrol-disputed-east-china-sea-waters-2024-04-12/ |work=Reuters |date=2024-04-12 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Statement of the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Baselines of the Territorial Sea of Diaoyu Dao and Its Affiliated Islands |url=https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/zy/jj/diaodao_665718/pl/202406/t20240606_11378061.html |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC |date=2012-09-10 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=China’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) |url=https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R43894.pdf |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=2015-01-30 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> The United States, which returned administrative right of the islands to Japan in 1972, takes no position on the ultimate sovereignty but acknowledges that the islands are under Japanese administration and are covered by the [[Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan|US–Japan security treaty]].<ref name=":7">{{cite report |url=https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R42761 |title=The Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations |date=2021-03-01 |publisher=Congressional Research Service |quote= |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R42761/R42761.23.pdf |title=The Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations |date=2017-02-10 |publisher=Congressional Research Service |quote=U.S. Administrations going back at least to the Nixon Administration have stated that the United States takes no position on the question of who has sovereignty over the Senkakus ... Secretary Rogers stated that “this treaty does not affect the legal status of those islands at all.” |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> Recent US–Japan statements also refer to Japan’s longstanding administration and oppose any unilateral actions that seek to undermine it .<ref>{{cite web |date=2025-02-07 |title=United States–Japan Joint Leaders’ Statement |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/02/united-states-japan-joint-leaders-statement/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=The White House}}</ref>

The Senkaku Islands are important nesting sites for seabirds, and are one of two remaining nesting sites in the world for the [[short-tailed albatross]], alongside [[Tori-shima (Izu Islands)|Tori-shima, Izu Islands]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Albatrosses Residing on the Senkaku Islands (1979: Former Okinawa Development Agency) |url=https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/senkaku-islands-04-eco--04_eco007.html |access-date=2020-09-03 |website=Review of Island Studies |archive-date=August 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193603/https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/senkaku-islands-04-eco--04_eco007.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Names ==
The islands are referred to as the {{Nihongo|''Senkaku Islands''|{{linktext|尖|閣|諸|島}}|Senkaku-shotō|variants: {{lang|ja|尖閣群島}} ''Senkaku-guntō''<ref name="Senkaku-guntō, Japan">National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, [http://geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-368031&fid=3261&c=japan Senkaku-guntō, Japan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630045719/http://geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-368031&fid=3261&c=japan |date=June 30, 2017 }}, retrieved September 20, 2010.</ref> and {{lang|ja|尖閣列島}} ''Senkaku-rettō''<ref name="Senkaku-rettō, Japan">National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, [http://geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-368032&fid=3261&c=japan Senkaku-rettō, Japan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409191958/https://geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-368032&fid=3261&c=japan |date=April 9, 2023 }}, retrieved September 20, 2010.</ref>}} in Japanese. In mainland China, they are known as the ''Diaoyu Islands'' ({{lang-zh|s={{linktext|钓鱼|岛}}|p=Diàoyúdǎo}}) or more fully "Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands" ({{lang-zh|s={{linktext|钓鱼|岛|及|其|附属|岛屿}}|p=Diàoyúdǎo jí qí fùshǔ dǎoyǔ}}),<ref name="c">{{cite web |date=2015-08-28 |title=Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Remarks on the Japanese Government Opening a Link about Diaoyu Dao on the Official Cabinet Website |url=https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2535_665405/t1293468.shtml |access-date=2020-09-15 |work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807043312/https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2535_665405/t1293468.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> while in Taiwan they are called the ''Diaoyutai Islands'', or previously spelled as ''Tiaoyutai Islands''<ref>{{cite web |title=The ROC government reiterates its sovereignty over the Tiaoyutai Islands |url=https://www.mofa.gov.tw/en/News_Content.aspx?n=539A9A50A5F8AF9E&sms=37B41539382B84BA&s=BDA44D06D35803BE |access-date=10 August 2020 |website=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] |quote=According to a report appearing in the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun on January 1, 2003, the Japanese government began leasing three uninhabited islands (Kita-kojima, Minami-kojima and Uotsurishima) out of the five islets that comprise the Tiaoyutai Islands (known as the "Senkaku Islands" in Japan) in October 2002 at the rate of 22 million Japanese yen annually. The ROC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan to ascertain the current position of the Japanese government on this issue and to express the ROC's solemn position regarding its claim to sovereignty over the Tiaoyutai Islands. |archive-date=November 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105211813/https://www.mofa.gov.tw/en/News_Content.aspx?n=539A9A50A5F8AF9E&sms=37B41539382B84BA&s=BDA44D06D35803BE |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Jesse Johnson |date=27 July 2020 |title=China's 100-day push near Senkaku Islands comes at unsettling time for Sino-Japanese ties |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/27/national/china-japan-senkaku-islands/ |access-date=10 August 2020 |website=[[Japan Times]] |quote=There are few better examples that underscore Japan's complicated relationship with China than the uninhabited but strategically positioned Senkakus, which are also claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu, as well as Taiwan, which calls them Tiaoyutai. |archive-date=July 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708063309/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/27/national/china-japan-senkaku-islands/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=[[Harold C. Hinton]] |url=https://archive.org/details/chinaseaamerican0000hint/ |title=The China Sea: The American Stake in its Future |date=1980 |publisher=National Strategy Information Center |isbn=0-87855-871-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/chinaseaamerican0000hint/page/13/ 13], [https://archive.org/details/chinaseaamerican0000hint/page/14/ 14], [https://archive.org/details/chinaseaamerican0000hint/page/25/ 25], [https://archive.org/details/chinaseaamerican0000hint/page/26/ 26] |quote=The other territorial dispute in the East China Sea is considerably more complicated and more serious. It relates to a group of eight small uninhabited islands known in China as the Tiaoyutai and in Japan as the Senkaku and claimed by Japan and both Chinas; they lie on the edge of the continental shelf about 120 miles northeast of Taiwan. |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2008 |title=Media Reaction: Cross-Strait Talks, Taiwan-Japan Dispute, U.S. Global Influence |url=https://archive.org/details/08AITTAIPEI845/ |publisher=[[United States Department of State]] |via=[[Internet Archive]] |quote=A separate "Liberty Times" column discussed the recent dispute between Taiwan and Japan over the Tiaoyutai Islands and urged the Ma administration to seek to form an equilateral triangular relationship with the United States, Japan and China, so that no side will feel threatened of will overpower the other.}}</ref> ({{lang-zh|t={{linktext|釣魚臺|列嶼}}|p=Diàoyútái liè yǔ}}).<ref name="mofaROC">{{cite web |author=Ministry of Foreign Affairs Taiwan |title=the Republic of China's Sovereignty Claims over the Diaoyutai Islands and the East China Sea Peace Initiative |url=http://www.mofa.gov.tw/EnOfficial/Topics/TopicsArticleDetail/fd8c3459-b3ec-4ca6-9231-403f2920090a |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019152749/https://www.mofa.gov.tw/EnOfficial/Topics/TopicsArticleDetail/fd8c3459-b3ec-4ca6-9231-403f2920090a |archive-date=October 19, 2020 |access-date=November 24, 2013 |work=www.mofa.gov.tw}}</ref><ref name="Taipeitimes">{{cite web |date=August 17, 2013 |title=Diaoyutai tensions stoked by arrival of China coast guard |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2013/08/17/2003569884 |work=www.taipeitimes.com |access-date=November 28, 2013 |archive-date=November 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116203056/https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2013/08/17/2003569884 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ChinaPost">{{cite web |date=November 24, 2013 |title=China preparing for Diaoyutai conflict: expert |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national-news/2013/11/24/394387/China-preparing.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140125111651/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national-news/2013/11/24/394387/China-preparing.htm |archive-date=25 January 2014 |work=www.chinapost.com.tw}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2013-09-05 |title=The Republic of China's Sovereignty Claims over the Diaoyutai Islands and the East China Sea Peace Initiative |url=https://www.mofa.gov.tw/News_Content.aspx?n=C641B6979A7897C0&sms=60ECE8A8F0DB165D&s=0D384DDF96769D7A |access-date=2020-09-15 |work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan (Taiwan) |archive-date=November 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116203102/https://www.mofa.gov.tw/News_Content.aspx?n=C641B6979A7897C0&sms=60ECE8A8F0DB165D&s=0D384DDF96769D7A |url-status=live }}</ref> In Western sources, the historical English name ''Pinnacle Islands'' is occasionally still used when neutrality among the competing national claims is desirable.<ref name="Lai208">{{harvnb|Lai|2013|p=208}} cites Hagstrom 2005; "The islands are also called 'Pinnacle Islands' for convenience and neutrality sake by Western scholars"</ref><ref>[https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1151&context=mscas The Diaoyutaiisenkaku Islands Dispute: its History and an Analysis of the Ownership Claims of the P.R.C., R.O.C., and Japan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624195821/https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1151&context=mscas |date=June 24, 2023 }}, ''Occasional Papers/Reprints Series in Contemporary Asian Studies'', Nr 3 – 1999 (152), p.13</ref><ref>[https://businessmirror.com.ph/2018/02/19/whats-in-a-name-4/ What's in a name?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708063312/https://businessmirror.com.ph/2018/02/19/whats-in-a-name-4/ |date=July 8, 2023 }}, ''[[BusinessMirror]]'': "The disputed islands East China Sea are called the Senkaku Islands by Japan, Diaoyu Islands in China and the Diaoyutai Islands by the government of Taiwan. In the West, these rocks are called the Pinnacle Islands as a loose translation of the Japanese name."</ref><ref>[http://americandiplomacy.web.unc.edu/2007/09/japans-territorial-disputes/ Japan's Territorial Disputes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708124433/https://americandiplomacy.web.unc.edu/2007/09/japans-territorial-disputes/ |date=July 8, 2023 }}, ''American Diplomacy'': "The Chinese call them the Diaoyu Islands, and on foreign maps in the past they have been called the Pinnacle Islands."</ref>

In [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]] (northern Ryukyu), the islands are known as ''{{Nihongo|2=魚蒲葵島|3=ʔiyukubajima}}'',<ref>{{Cite book |title=Okinawago jiten |date=2001-03-30 |publisher=Zaimushō Insatsukyoku |others=Kokuritsu Kokugo Kenkyūjo, 国立国語研究所 |isbn=4-17-149000-6 |location=Tōkyō |pages=549 |language=ja |oclc=47773506}}</ref> while their [[Yaeyama language|Yaeyama]] (southern Ryukyu) name is ''iigunkubajima''.

Chinese records of these islands date back to as early as the 15th century when they were referred as ''Diaoyu'' in books such as ''Voyage with a Tail Wind'' ({{lang-zh|t=順風相送|p=Shùnfēng Xiāngsòng}}) (1403) <ref>Title: Liang zhong hai dao zhen jing / [Xiang Da jiao zhu].Imprint: Beijing : Zhonghua shu ju : Xin hua shu dian Beijing fa xing suo fa xing, 2000 reprint edition. Contents: Shun feng xiang song—Zhi nan zheng fa. (順風相送--指南正法). {{ISBN|7-101-02025-9}}. pp96 and [http://bbs.home.news.cn/upfiles/04B5B77C.002C pp253] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707045318/http://bbs.home.news.cn/upfiles/04B5B77C.002C |date=July 7, 2011 }}. The full text is available at [http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E4%B8%A4%E7%A7%8D%E6%B5%B7%E9%81%93%E9%92%88%E7%BB%8F wikisource] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615044828/http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E4%B8%A4%E7%A7%8D%E6%B5%B7%E9%81%93%E9%92%88%E7%BB%8F |date=June 15, 2011 }}.</ref> and ''Record of the Imperial Envoy's Visit to Ryūkyū'' ({{lang-zh|t=使琉球錄|p=Shǐ Liúqiú Lù}}) (1534).{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} Adopted by the Chinese Imperial Map of the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese name for the island group ([[wikt:釣魚|''Diaoyu'']]) and the Japanese name for the main island ([[wikt:魚釣り|''Uotsuri'']]) both mean "fishing".

==History==
[[File:Seconde partie de la carte d'Asie contenant la Chine et partie de la Tartarie (Senkaku).jpg|thumbnail|An extract from a map of Asia (China and [[Tartary]]) drawn by [[Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville]] in 1752.]]

===Early history===
Historically, the Chinese had used the uninhabited islands as navigational markers in making the voyage to the [[Ryukyu Kingdom]] upon commencement of diplomatic missions to the kingdom, "resetting the compass at a particular isle in order to reach the next one".<ref name="ReferenceA">Suganuma, {{Google books|vDpEiKR2osoC|p. 49.|page=49-54}}</ref>

The first published description of the islands in Europe appears in a book imported by [[Isaac Titsingh]] in 1796. His small library of Japanese books included {{Nihongo|''[[Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu]]''|三國通覧圖說|''An Illustrated Description of Three Countries''}} by [[Hayashi Shihei]].<ref>WorldCat, [http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Sangoku+Ts%C5%ABran+Zusetsu&qt=results_page ''Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204210419/http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Sangoku+Ts%C5%ABran+Zusetsu&qt=results_page |date=February 4, 2016 }}; alternate [[romaji]] [http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Sankoku+Ts%C5%ABran+Zusetsu&qt=results_page ''Sankoku Tsūran Zusetsu''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006200028/http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Sankoku+Ts%C5%ABran+Zusetsu&qt=results_page |date=October 6, 2018 }}</ref> This text, which was published in Japan in 1785, described the [[Ryūkyū Kingdom]].<ref>Cullen, Louis M. (2003). {{Google books|ycY_85OInSoC|''A History of Japan, 1582–1941: Internal and External Worlds'', p. 137.|page=137}}</ref> Hayashi followed convention in giving the islands their Chinese names in his map in the text, where he coloured them in the same pink as China.<ref name="Economist-2012-12-empty-space">{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/news/christmas/21568696-behind-row-over-bunch-pacific-rocks-lies-sad-magical-history-okinawa-narrative |title=The Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands: Narrative of an empty space |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=December 22, 2012 |issue=Christmas Specials 2012 |publisher=[[Economist Group]] |location=[[London]] |issn=0013-0613 |access-date=February 26, 2014 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226002234/http://www.economist.com/news/christmas/21568696-behind-row-over-bunch-pacific-rocks-lies-sad-magical-history-okinawa-narrative |archive-date=February 26, 2014 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In 1832, the [[Oriental Translation Fund|Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland]] supported the posthumous abridged publication of Titsingh's French translation.<ref>[[Julius Klaproth|Klaproth, Julius]]. (1832). {{Google books|lsoNAAAAIAAJ|''San kokf tsou ran to sets, ou Aperçu général des trois royaumes'', pp. 169–180.|page=i}}</ref>

The name, "Pinnacle Isles" was first used by [[James Colnett]], who charted them during his 1789–1791 voyage in the ''Argonaut''.<ref>"Pinnacle Rock in Latitude 29°40{{prime}} and Longitude 132° E. of London... This Navigation is no ways dangereous were you sure of your Latitude and to make Pinnicle Isle". James Colnett, ''The Journal ... aboard the Argonaut from April 26, 1789 to Nov. 3, 1791'', ed. with introd. and notes by F. W. Howay, Toronto, Champlain Society Vol. 26, 1940, p. 47.</ref> [[William Robert Broughton]] sailed past them in November 1797 during his voyage of discovery to the North Pacific in HMS ''Providence'', and referred to Diaoyu Island/Uotsuri Island as "Peaks Island".<ref>William Robert Broughton, ''William Robert Broughton's Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific, 1795–1798'', edited by Andrew David; with an introduction by Barry Gough,  Ashgate for the Hakluyt Society, Farnham, England; Burlington, VT, 2010, p. 202.</ref> Reference was made to the islands in [[Edward Belcher]]'s 1848 account of the voyages of HMS ''Sammarang''.<ref>Suganuma, Unryu. (2001). {{Google books|vDpEiKR2osoC|''Sovereign Rights and Territorial Space in Sino-Japanese Relations'',  |pages=87, 89–90}}</ref> Captain Belcher remarked that "the names assigned in this region have been too hastily admitted."<ref>Belcher, Edward. (1848). {{Google books|jotKAAAAYAAJ|''Narrative of the Voyage of'' H.M.S. ''Samarang'', Vol. I,  pp. 315.|page=315}}; Belcher, {{Google books|PiAEAAAAQAAJ|Vol. II, pp. 572–574.|page=572}}</ref> Belcher reported anchoring off Pinnacle Island in March 1845.<ref>Belcher, {{Google books|jotKAAAAYAAJ|Vol. I, |pages=316–318.}}; excerpt at p. 317, "On the 16th, we endeavoured to obtain observations on Tia-usu; a landing was effected, but the absence of sun prevented our obtaining satisfactory observations, and bad weather coming on hastened our departure. This group, comprehending hô-pîng-san (和平山, "Peace Island", ''Uotsuri-shima''), Pinnacle Rocks, and Tias-usu (''Kuba-shima''), form a triangle, of which the hypothenuse, or distance between Hoa-pin-san and Tia-usu, extends about fourteen miles, and that between Hoa-pinsan and the Southern Pinnacle, about two miles."</ref>

In the 1870s and 1880s, the English name Pinnacle Islands was used by the British navy for the rocks adjacent to the largest island ''Uotsuri-shima'' / ''Diaoyu Dao'' (then called {{Lang-zh|t=和平嶼|poj=hô-pîng-sū|labels=no|l=Peace Island in [[Hokkien]]}}); ''Kuba-shima'' / ''Huangwei Yu'' (then called ''Ti-a-usu''); and ''Taishō-tō'' / ''Chiwei Yu''.<ref>Suganuma, {{Google books|vDpEiKR2osoC|p. 90.|page=90}}; Jarrad, Frederick W. (1873). {{Google books|LvoGAAAAQAAJ|''The China Sea Directory'', Vol. IV, pp. 141–142.|page=141}}</ref>

A Japanese navy record issued in 1886 first started to identify the islets using equivalents of the Chinese and English terms employed by the British. The name "Senkaku Retto" is not found in any Japanese historical document before 1900 (the term "Senkaku Gunto" began being used in the late 19th century), and first appeared in print in a geography journal published in 1900. It was derived from a translation of the English name Pinnacle Islands into a Sinicized Japanese term "Sento Shoto" (as opposed to "Senkaku Retto", i.e., the term used by the Japanese today), which has the same meaning.<ref>Suganuma, {{Google books|vDpEiKR2osoC|p. 91.|page=91-4}}</ref>

The collective use of the name "Diaoyutai" to denote the entire group began with the advent of the controversy in the 1970s.<ref>Koo, Min Gyo (2009). [https://books.google.com/books?id=8Ac9hLAES18C&q=advent&pg=PA103 ''Disputes and Maritime Regime Building in East Asia'', p. 103 n2.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708063314/https://books.google.com/books?id=8Ac9hLAES18C&q=advent&pg=PA103 |date=July 8, 2023 }} citing Park (1973) "Oil under Troubled Waters: The Northeast Asia Seabed Controversy", 14 HILJ (''[[Harvard International Law Journal]]'') 212, 248–249; also Park, Choon-Ho (1972). ''Continental Shelf Issues in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea''. Kingston, Rhode Island: Law of the Sea Institute, pp. 1–64.</ref>

===Control of the islands by Japan and the US===
[[File:Senkaku bonito.jpg|thumb|left|Japanese workers at a bonito fishery processing plant on Uotsuri-shima sometime around 1910<ref name="search.japantimes.co.jp" />]]
[[File:Txu-oclc-6900707-ng51-15.jpg|thumb|Map including Uotsuri-Shima (labeled as UOTSURI-SHIMA 魚釣島) (1954)]]
[[File:Txu-oclc-6900707-ng51-16.jpg|left|thumb|Map including Taishō-tō (labeled as SEKIBI-SHO 赤尾屿) (1954)]]
As the uninhabited islets were historically used as maritime navigational markers, they were never subjected to administrative control other than the recording of the geographical positions on maps, descriptions in official records of Chinese missions to the Ryukyu Kingdom, etc.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

The Japanese central government incorporated the islands into Okinawa Prefecture in January 1895 while still fighting China in the [[First Sino-Japanese War]].<ref name="Economist-2012-12-empty-space" /> Around 1900, Japanese entrepreneur {{Nihongo|Koga Tatsushirō|古賀 辰四郎}} constructed a [[bonito]] fish processing plant on the islands, employing over 200 workers. The business failed around 1940 and the islands have remained deserted ever since.<ref name="search.japantimes.co.jp" /> In the 1970s, Koga Tatsushirō's son Zenji Koga and Zenji's wife Hanako sold four islets to the Kurihara family of Saitama Prefecture. Kunioki Kurihara<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19540469 |title=BBC News – Japan confirms disputed islands purchase plan |work=bbc.co.uk |year=2012 |quote=Kunioki Kurihara |access-date=September 10, 2012 |archive-date=September 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910195752/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19540469 |url-status=live }}</ref> owned Uotsuri, Kita-Kojima, and Minami-Kojima. Kunioki's sister owned Kuba.<ref name="japantimes.co.jp">Ito, Masami, "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120517x2.html Owner OK with metro bid to buy disputed Senkaku Islands]", ''[[Japan Times]]'', May 18, 2012, pp. 1–2</ref>

The islands came under US government occupation in 1945 after the surrender of Japan ended World War II.<ref name="search.japantimes.co.jp">Kaneko, Maya, ([[Kyodo News]]) "[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20101208f2.html Ishigaki fishermen fret over Senkaku encroachment] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121227220804/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20101208f2.html |date=December 27, 2012 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', December 8, 2010, p. 3.</ref> In 1969, the [[United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific|United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East]] (ECAFE) identified potential oil and gas reserves in the vicinity of the Senkaku Islands.<ref name=":6" /> In 1971, the Okinawa Reversion Treaty passed the United States Senate, returning the islands to Japanese control in 1972.<ref name="Senate">Finney, John W. [https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/11/archives/senate-endorses-okinawa-treaty-votes-84-to-6-for-islands-return-to.html "Senate Endorses Okinawa Treaty; Votes 84 to 6 for Island's Return to Japan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027042715/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/11/archives/senate-endorses-okinawa-treaty-votes-84-to-6-for-islands-return-to.html |date=October 27, 2018 }}, ''The New York Times''. November 11, 1971.</ref> Also in 1972, the Republic of China government and People's Republic of China government officially began to declare ownership of the islands.<ref name="Senkaku purchase bid made official">[[Kyodo News]], "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120911a3.html Senkaku purchase bid made official] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918062938/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120911a3.html |date=September 18, 2012 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', September 11, 2012, p. 2</ref>

Since 1972, when the islands reverted to Japanese government control, the government of Ishigaki has been given civic authority over the territory. The Japanese central government, however, has prohibited Ishigaki from surveying or developing the islands.<ref name="search.japantimes.co.jp" /><ref>Ito, Masami, "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120518f1.html Jurisdiction over remote Senkakus comes with hot-button dangers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519185138/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120518f1.html |date=May 19, 2012 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', May 18, 2012, p. 1</ref>

In 1978, a Japanese political group constructed the first lighthouse on Uotsuri island and grazed two goats. Goats have since proliferated and affected the island's vegetation.<ref>[https://megalodon.jp/2020-0705-1315-16/https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp:443/article/hozen/8/1/8_KJ00003259290/_pdf The Problem of Feral Goats on Uotsuri-jima in the Senkuku Islands and Appeals for Countermeasures to Resolve the Problem.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705092723/https://megalodon.jp/2020-0705-1315-16/https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp:443/article/hozen/8/1/8_KJ00003259290/_pdf |date=July 5, 2020 }}, ''Japanese Journal of Conservation Ecology 8'', p.90. Yasushi Yokohata, Laboratory of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Education, Toyama University. 2003.</ref>

In 1979 an official delegation from the Japanese government composed of 50 academics, government officials from the Foreign and Transport ministries, officials from the now-defunct Okinawa Development Agency, and Hiroyuki Kurihara, visited the islands and camped on Uotsuri for about four weeks. The delegation surveyed the local ecosystem, finding [[Senkaku Mole|moles]] and sheep, studied the local marine life, and examined whether the islands would support human habitation.<ref name="japantimes.co.jp" />

In 1988, a Japanese political group reconstructed a lighthouse on Uotsuri Island.<ref name = "jcg2005">[https://web.archive.org/web/20200604024659/https://www.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/info/books/report2005/topics/p005-1.html 4. Start managing the "Uotsuri Island Lighthouse" of the Senkaku Islands] Japan Coast Guard Annual Report 2005</ref>

In 2005, a Japanese fisherman who owned a lighthouse at Uotsuri Island expressed his intention to relinquish the ownership of the lighthouse, and the lighthouse became a national property pursuant to the provisions of the Civil Code of Japan. Since then, the Japan Coast Guard has maintained and managed the Uotsuri lighthouse.<ref name = "jcg2005"/>

From 2002 to 2012, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications paid the Kurihara family ¥25&nbsp;million a year to rent Uotsuri, Minami-Kojima and Kita-Kojima. Japan's Ministry of Defense rents Kuba island for an undisclosed amount. Kuba is used by the US military as a practice aircraft bombing range. Japan's central government completely owns Taisho island.<ref name="japantimes.co.jp" /><ref>Hongo, Jun, "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120419a4.html Tokyo's intentions for Senkaku islets] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101154046/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120419a4.html |date=November 1, 2012 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', April 19, 2012, p. 2.</ref>

The reaction of the [[Kan Cabinet]] to the September [[2010 Senkaku boat collision incident]] was seen by former Prime Minister [[Shinzo Abe]] as "a very foolish move" and "frighteningly naive".<ref name="abe10t">{{cite news |last1=Abe |first1=Shinzo |title=Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe on U.S.-Japanese Relations |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.hudson.org/files/publications/AbeEventTranscript.pdf |issue=The Capital Hilton Washington, DC |publisher=Hudson Institute |date=15 October 2010 |access-date=April 20, 2023 |archive-date=December 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206140708/https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.hudson.org/files/publications/AbeEventTranscript.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="abe10v">{{cite news |last1=Abe |first1=Shinzo |title=U.S.-Japan Relations |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?296035-1/us-japan-relations |agency=C-SPAN |publisher=National Cable Satellite Corporation |date=15 October 2010 |access-date=April 20, 2023 |archive-date=August 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193603/https://www.c-span.org/video/?296035-1/us-japan-relations |url-status=live }}</ref>

On December 17, 2010, the city of [[Ishigaki, Okinawa|Ishigaki]] designated January 14 as "Pioneering Day" to commemorate Japan's 1895 incorporation of the Senkaku Islands. China condemned Ishigaki's actions.<ref>[[Agence France-Presse]], "[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20101218x1.html Senkaku memorial day riles China] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120720181921/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20101218x1.html |date=July 20, 2012 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', December 19, 2010, p. 1. Retrieved January 29, 2011.</ref>

In May 2012, both the Tokyo Metropolitan and Japanese central governments announced plans to negotiate purchase of Uotsuri, Kita-Kojima, and Minami-Kojima from the Kurihara family,<ref name="japantimes.co.jp" /> and on September 11, 2012, the Japanese government nationalized its control over Minami-kojima, Kita-kojima, and Uotsuri islands by purchasing them from the Kurihara family for ¥2.05&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/world/asia/japan-agrees-to-buy-islands-at-center-of-dispute-with-china.html |title=Japan Said to Have Tentative Deal to Buy 3 Disputed Islands from Private Owners |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 6, 2012 |last1=Fackler |first1=Martin |access-date=February 12, 2017 |archive-date=July 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705133951/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/world/asia/japan-agrees-to-buy-islands-at-center-of-dispute-with-china.html |url-status=live }}</ref> China's Foreign Ministry objected saying Beijing would not "sit back and watch its territorial sovereignty violated."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/japan-says-it-will-purchase-disputed-islands-from-private-owner-in-step-likely-to-anger-china/2012/09/10/75b0ad1a-fb2e-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912084602/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/japan-says-it-will-purchase-disputed-islands-from-private-owner-in-step-likely-to-anger-china/2012/09/10/75b0ad1a-fb2e-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 12, 2012 |title=Japan says it will purchase disputed islands from private owner, angering China |newspaper=Washington Post |agency=AP |date=September 10, 2012|access-date=September 10, 2012}}</ref>

In 2014, Japan constructed a lighthouse and wharf featuring Japanese flag insignia on the islets.<ref>[[Kyodo News]], "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/02/national/politics-diplomacy/taiwan-activists-threaten-to-land-on-senkakus-if-japan-doesnt-remove-facilities/#.VPWSFY0cQ5s Taiwan activists threaten to land on Senkakus if Japan doesn't remove facilities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116221643/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/02/national/politics-diplomacy/taiwan-activists-threaten-to-land-on-senkakus-if-japan-doesnt-remove-facilities/#.VPWSFY0cQ5s |date=November 16, 2022 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', 2 March 2015</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Txu-pclmaps-oclc-6618306-senkaku-gunto-13.jpg|thumb|right|Map of the Senkaku Islands area (1944)]]
[[File:20100915Senkaku Islands Uotsuri Jima Kita Kojima Minami Kojima.jpg|thumb|right|A cluster of islets – Uotsuri-shima (left), Kita-Kojima and Minami-Kojima (right)]]

The island group are known to consist of five uninhabited islets and three barren rocks.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11341139 |title=How uninhabited islands soured China-Japan ties |work=BBC News |date=September 17, 2010 |access-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-date=November 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108101023/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11341139 |url-status=live }}</ref> China has identified and named as many as 71 islets that belong to this group after the Japanese Cabinet released names for 39 uninhabited islands.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120918053801/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-09/15/c_131852137.htm China announces geographic codes for Diaoyu Islands]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2012/03/04/333537/China-releases.htm |title=China releases official names of disputed islands |access-date=December 16, 2014 |archive-date=June 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629090308/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2012/03/04/333537/china-releases.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

These minor features in the East China Sea are located approximately 120 nautical miles northeast of Taiwan, 200 nautical miles east of the Chinese mainland and 200 nautical miles southwest of the Japanese island of Okinawa.<ref>UC Berkeley: [[UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation]]; retrieved November 15, 2010.</ref>

According to one visitor, Uotsuri-shima, the largest of the islands, consists of a pair of rocky gray mountains with steep, boulder-strewn slopes rising almost straight from the water's edge. Other, nearby islands were described as large rocks covered by low vegetation.<ref name="Fackler">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/world/asia/islands-dispute-tests-resolve-of-china-and-japan.html |title=In Shark-Infested Waters, Resolve of Two Giants is Tested |last=Fackler |first=Martin |date=2012-09-22 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |language=en |access-date=2019-07-13 |archive-date=August 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193602/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/world/asia/islands-dispute-tests-resolve-of-china-and-japan.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In ascending order of distances, the island cluster is located:

*{{convert|140|km|nmi mi|abbr=on|lk=out}} east of [[Pengjia Islet]], Republic of China (Taiwan)<ref>[http://www.acap.aq/ Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrals (ACAP)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406100429/http://www.acap.aq/ |date=April 6, 2011 }}, [http://data.acap.aq/breeding_site.cfm?bs_id=2499 Breeding site details: Agincourt/P'eng-chia-Hsu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706074909/http://data.acap.aq/breeding_site.cfm?bs_id=2499 |date=July 6, 2011 }}</ref>
*{{convert|170|km|nmi mi|abbr=on}} north of [[Ishigaki Island]], Japan
*{{convert|186|km|nmi mi|abbr=on}} northeast of [[Keelung]], Republic of China (Taiwan)
*{{convert|410|km|nmi mi|abbr=on}} west of [[Okinawa Island]], Japan

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Islands in the group
|-
!No.!!Japanese name<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/pdfs/senkaku_pamphlet.pdf |title=The Senkaku Islands |page=2 |website=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan]] |date=March 2014|access-date=20 October 2019 |quote=Kuba Island Taisho Island Okinokitaiwa Island Uotsuri Island Okinominamiiwa Island Tobise Island Kitakojima Island Minamikojima Island}}</ref>!!Republic of China name<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.land.moi.gov.tw/ngis/chhtml/main.asp?area=GB02&type=byArea|script-title=zh:宜蘭縣土地段名代碼表|publisher=[[:zh:內政部地政司|Department of Land Administration]]|date=31 October 2017|access-date=20 October 2019|language=zh-tw|quote={{lang|zh-tw|地政事務所名稱(代碼) 宜蘭(GB) 鄉鎮市區名稱(代碼) 頭城鎮(02){...}段 小段 代碼 備註{...}釣魚台 0568 赤尾嶼 0569 黃尾嶼 0570 北小島 0571{...}南小島 0572}}}}</ref><ref name="taiwan">{{cite web|url=https://www.moi.gov.tw/files/site_stuff/321/2/year/y05-19.ods|script-title=zh:05-19 臺灣島嶼面積|trans-title=Location and Area of Islands in Taiwan|language=zh-tw,en|access-date=20 October 2019|website=[[Ministry of the Interior (Taiwan)|Ministry of the Interior]]|quote=縣市別 Locality 島嶼名稱 位置 Location 面積(平方公里) (1) 經度 緯度 Name of Islands Longitude Latitude Area (Km<sup>2</sup>){...}宜蘭縣 Yilan County{...}釣魚臺 Diaoyutai 123°32{{prime}}48〞～123°30{{prime}}27〞 25°45{{prime}}26〞～25°46{{prime}}31〞 4.3838 黃尾嶼 Huangwei Isle 123°41{{prime}}56〞～123°41{{prime}}08〞 25°55{{prime}}45〞～25°56{{prime}}21〞 0.9091 赤尾嶼 Chiwei Isle 124°34{{prime}}09〞～124°33{{prime}}50〞 25°53{{prime}}54〞～25°54{{prime}}06〞 0.0609 北小島 Beixiao Island 123°35{{prime}}48〞～123°35{{prime}}15〞 25°44{{prime}}45〞～25°45{{prime}}21〞 0.3267 南小島 Nanxiao Island 123°36{{prime}}29〞～123°35{{prime}}36〞 25°44{{prime}}25〞～25°44{{prime}}47〞 0.4592 沖北岩 Chongbeiyan 123°35{{prime}}44〞～123°35{{prime}}26〞 25°48{{prime}}01〞～25°48{{prime}}10〞 0.0183 沖南岩 Chongnanyan 123°37{{prime}}12〞～123°37{{prime}}05〞 25°46{{prime}}31〞～25°46{{prime}}35〞 0.0048 飛瀨 Feilai 123°33{{prime}}39〞～123°33{{prime}}32〞 25°45{{prime}}23〞～25°45{{prime}}27〞 0.0008}}</ref>!!China (PRC) name<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diaoyudao.org.cn/en/node_7219352.htm|title=Geographic Location|website=Diaoyu Dao: The Inherent Territory of China|quote=Diaoyu Dao and its Affiliated Islands{...}Diaoyu Dao{...}Huangwei Yu{...}Chiwei Yu{...}Beixiao Dao{...}Nanxiao Dao{...}Bei Yu{...}Nan Yu{...}Fei Yu{...} }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diaoyudao.org.cn/node_7217571.htm|script-title=zh:自然环境 |language=zh-hans |website={{lang|zh-hans|钓鱼岛是中国的固有领土}}|quote=钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿概况{...}钓鱼岛{...}黄尾屿{...}赤尾屿{...}北小岛{...}南小岛{...}北屿{...}南屿{...}飞屿{...} }}</ref>!! Coordinates!!Area (km<sup>2</sup>)<ref name="taiwan" />!! Highest elevation (m)
!Images
|-
|1||Uotsuri Island ({{Lang|ja|魚釣島}})<ref>[[Geospatial Information Authority of Japan]] (GSI), [http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?latitude=25.7416666666667&longitude=123.466666666667 魚釣島 (Uotsuri-shima)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113221947/http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?latitude=25.7416666666667&longitude=123.466666666667 |date=November 13, 2012 }}.</ref>||{{linktext|釣魚臺}}<ref>{{cite book|script-title=zh:臺灣歷史地圖 增訂版 |trans-title=Taiwan Historical Maps, Expanded and Revised Edition|date=February 2018|language=zh-tw|publisher=[[National Museum of Taiwan History]]|isbn=978-986-05-5274-4|page=156|location=[[Taipei]]|quote={{lang|zh-tw|臺海軍事危機地圖1949-1958年{...}釣魚臺{...}地圖繪製:黃清琦}}}} (In the map labeled 臺海軍事危機地圖1949-1958年, the [[Free area of the Republic of China]]  is colored light green, the PRC (China) is colored red and the Ryukyu Islands are colored pink. The area labeled 釣魚臺 is colored light green. The map was created by Ching-Chi Huang.)</ref> / {{linktext|釣魚台}} Diaoyutai<br />[[Pe̍h-ōe-jī|POJ]]: Tiò-hî-tâi<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/result_detail.jsp?n_no=35397&curpage=1&sample=%E9%87%A3%E9%AD%9A&radiobutton=1&querytarget=1&limit=20&pagenum=1&rowcount=3|trans-title=[[Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan]]|script-title=zh:臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典|access-date=27 October 2019|language=zh-nan,zh-tw|quote=詞目 釣魚台 音讀 Tiò-hî-tâi 釋義 島嶼(附錄－地名－臺灣縣市行政區名)|archive-date=August 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807055628/https://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/result_detail.jsp?n_no=35397&curpage=1&sample=%E9%87%A3%E9%AD%9A&radiobutton=1&querytarget=1&limit=20&pagenum=1&rowcount=3|url-status=live}}</ref>||Diaoyu Dao ({{linktext|钓鱼岛}}/{{linktext|釣魚島}})||{{Coord|25|44|36|N|123|28|33|E|type:isle}}||4.32||383
|[[File:Senkaku-uotsuri.jpg|center|frameless|alt=|330x330px]]
|-
|2||Taisho Island ({{Lang|ja|大正島}})<ref>GSI, [http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?latitude=25.9291666666667&longitude=124.552083333333 大正島 (Taishō-tō)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113031823/http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?latitude=25.9291666666667&longitude=124.552083333333 |date=November 13, 2012 }}.</ref>|| 赤尾嶼 Chiwei Isle ||Chiwei Yu ({{lang|zh|赤尾屿}}/赤尾嶼)||{{Coord|25|55|21|N|124|33|31|E|type:isle}}||0.0609||75
|[[File:Taisyoujima of Senkaku Islands.jpg|center|frameless]]
|-
|3||Kuba Island ({{Lang|ja|久場島}})<ref>GSI, [http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?latitude=25.9347222222222&longitude=123.677083333333 久場島 (Kuba-shima)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114105227/http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?latitude=25.9347222222222&longitude=123.677083333333 |date=November 14, 2012 }}.</ref>|| 黃尾嶼 Huangwei Isle ||Huangwei Yu ({{lang|zh|黄尾屿}}/黄尾嶼)||{{Coord|25|55|26|N|123|40|55|E|type:isle}}||1.08||117
|[[File:Senkaku kubajima COK20082-C2-3+4.jpg|center|frameless]]
|-
|4||Kitakojima Island ({{Lang|ja|北小島}})<ref>Google Maps, [https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=japan+senkaku+islands&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=25.761936,35.947266&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Japan&ll=25.728236,123.546324&spn=0.028532,0.035105&z=14 北小島 (Kita kojima)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193604/https://www.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode&q=japan+senkaku+islands&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=25.761936,35.947266&ie=UTF8&hq&hnear=Japan&ll=25.728236,123.546324&spn=0.028532,0.035105&z=14 |date=August 27, 2024 }}; GSI, [http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?latitude=25.7333333333333&longitude=123.539583333333 北小島 (Kita kojima)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114083619/http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?latitude=25.7333333333333&longitude=123.539583333333 |date=November 14, 2012 }}.</ref>|| 北小島 Beixiao Island ||Beixiao Dao ({{lang|zh|北小岛}}/北小島)||{{Coord|25|43|47|N|123|32|29|E|type:isle}}||0.3267||135
| rowspan="2" |[[File:Kitakojima and Minamikojima of Senkaku Islands.jpg|thumb|Kita-Kojima (left) and Minami-Kojima (right)|alt=|center]]
|-
|5||Minamikojima Island ({{Lang|ja|南小島}})<ref>Google Maps, [https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=japan+senkaku+islands&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=25.761936,35.947266&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Japan&ll=25.728236,123.546324&spn=0.028532,0.035105&z=14 南小島 (Minami Kojima)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193604/https://www.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode&q=japan+senkaku+islands&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=25.761936,35.947266&ie=UTF8&hq&hnear=Japan&ll=25.728236,123.546324&spn=0.028532,0.035105&z=14 |date=August 27, 2024 }}</ref>|| 南小島 Nanxiao Island ||Nanxiao Dao ({{lang|zh|南小岛}}/南小島)||{{Coord|25|43|25|N|123|33|00|E|type:isle}}||0.4592||149
|-
|6||Okinokitaiwa Island ({{Lang|ja|沖ノ北岩}})<ref>GSI, [http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?latitude=25.7819444444444&longitude=123.535416666667 沖ノ北岩 (Okino Kitaiwa)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114012409/http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?latitude=25.7819444444444&longitude=123.535416666667 |date=November 14, 2012 }}.</ref>|| 沖北岩 Chongbeiyan ||Bei Yu (北屿/{{lang|zh|大北小岛}}/大北小島)<!-- redundant?  ref to be deleted? <ref>GSI, [http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/cgi-bin/watchizu.cgi?id=38235400&slidex=1200&slidey=200 map 5]</ref> -->||{{Coord|25|46|45|N|123|32|30|E|type:isle}}||0.0183|||nominal
|[[File:Okinokitaiwa of Senkaku Islands.jpg|center|frameless]]
|-
|7||Okinominamiiwa Island ({{Lang|ja|沖ノ南岩}})<ref>GSI, [http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?latitude=25.7569444444444&longitude=123.572916666667 沖ノ南岩 (Okino Minami-iwa)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113202930/http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?latitude=25.7569444444444&longitude=123.572916666667 |date=November 13, 2012 }}.</ref>|| 沖南岩 Chongnanyan ||Nan Yu (南屿/{{lang|zh|大南小岛}}/大南小島/南岩)<!-- redundant?  ref to be deleted?<ref>GSI, [http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/cgi-bin/watchizu.cgi?id=38235405&slidex=0&slidey=2000 map 7]</ref> -->||{{Coord|25|45|19|N|123|34|01|E|type:isle}}||0.0048|||nominal
|[[File:Okinominamiiwa of Senkaku Islands.jpg|center|frameless]]
|-
|8||Tobise Island ({{Lang|ja|飛瀬}})<ref>GSI, [http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?b=254408.0&l=1233021.0 飛瀬 (Tobise)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114100733/http://watchizu.gsi.go.jp/watchizu.html?b=254408.0&l=1233021.0 |date=November 14, 2012 }}.</ref><!-- redundant?  alternate name to be deleted? or<br /> {{Nihongo|Tobishou|飛礁|(past name)}}-->|| 飛瀨 Feilai ||Fei Yu (飞屿/{{lang|zh|飞礁岩}}/飛礁岩)||{{Coord|25|44|08|N|123|30|22|E|type:isle}}||0.0008|||nominal
|[[File:Tobise of Senkaku Islands.jpg|center|thumb|Tobise rocks (bottom right)]]
|}
[[File:Diaoyutai senkaku detail.png|500px|thumb|The five islands and three rocks, numbered for the table above.]]

The depth of the surrounding waters of the continental shelf is approximately {{convert|100|-|150|m}} except for the [[Okinawa Trough]] on the south.<ref>Ji, Guoxing. (1995). [http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7rq2b069 "Maritime Jurisdiction in the Three China Seas", p. 11] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806132625/http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7rq2b069 |date=August 6, 2012 }};  Sibuet, Jean-Claude et al. [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1987JGR....9214041S "Back arc extension in the Okinawa Trough"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613062858/http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1987JGR....9214041S |date=June 13, 2015 }}, ''Journal of Geophysical Research'', Vol. 92, Issue B13, pp. 14041-14063.</ref> The shelf is shallow enough that the western islands were likely connected to the mainland during the [[Last Glacial Period]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ota, Hidetoshi Sakaguchi, Noriaki Ikehara, Sadao Hikida, Tsutomu |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/5094347.pdf |title=The Herpetofauna of the Senkaku Group, Ryukyu Archipelago |date=2008-06-18 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |oclc=652309468 |access-date=September 2, 2020 |archive-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128144511/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/5094347.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Geology ===
[[File:Uotsuri-shima geo 1900.jpg|thumb|right|A geological map of Uotsuri-shima drawn by Japanese geologist [[:ja:黒岩恒|Hisashi Kuroiwa]] in 1900.]]
Uotsuri, Kitakojima, Minamikojima and surrounding islets are [[Sedimentary rock|sedimentary]] in origin, predominantly consisting of probably [[Miocene]] aged [[sandstone]] and sandstone-[[Conglomerate (geology)|conglomerate]], with subordinate conglomerate, [[coal]] seams up to {{Convert|10|cm|in}} thick, and rare [[siltstone]] beds. The sedimentary strata have around {{Convert|300|m|ft}} of exposed thickness at Uotsuri, and have SW-NE, EW and NW-SE [[Strike and dip|strikes]], with a general inclination of a [[Dip (geology)|dip]] of less than 20 degrees towards the North.<ref>Matsumoto, Y., and Tsuji, K. (1973) : [http://naosite.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10069/16488/1/kyoyoS14_00_05_t.pdf Geology of Uotsuri-jima, Kita-kojima and Minami-kojima] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407183746/http://naosite.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10069/16488/1/kyoyoS14_00_05_t.pdf |date=April 7, 2016 }}. Bull. Fac. Liberal Arts, Nagasaki Univ. (Nat. Sci.), 14, 43–57 (in Japanese with English abstract).</ref> These strata are [[Intrusive rock|intruded]] by sheets of Mio-[[Pliocene]] [[porphyritic]] [[hornblende]] [[diorite]], and are fringed by recent coral outcrops and surface [[Scree|talus deposits]]. Kuba and Taisho are volcanic in origin, with Kuba comprising "[[pyroxene]] [[andesite]], lava, [[volcanic bomb]]s, [[pumice]], limestone, and other rocky material" and Taisho is thought to be consist of "andesite, [[tuff breccia]], and tuffaceous sandstone".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Geology of the Senkaku Islands {{!}} Info Library|url=https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/senkaku-islands-02-geography--02_geo007.html|access-date=2020-09-02|website=Review of Island Studies|archive-date=January 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124231502/https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/senkaku-islands-02-geography--02_geo007.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Wildlife==
===Plants===
Permission for collecting herbs on three of the islands was recorded in an Imperial Chinese edict of 1893.<ref>Ji, [http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7rq2b069 p. 11; excerpt, "In 1893, Empress Dowager Tsu Shih of the Qing Dynasty issued an imperial edict .... China argues that discovery accompanied by some formal act of usage is sufficient to establish sovereignty over the islands."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806132625/http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7rq2b069 |date=August 6, 2012 }}</ref>

Several floral surveys have been conducted on the Senkaku islands,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Surveys Between the end of World War II and 1970, Part 1 (1950, 1952, 1953, 1964: University of the Ryukyus) |url=https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/senkaku-islands-04-eco--04_eco003.html |access-date=2020-09-03 |website=Review of Island Studies |archive-date=June 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608043607/https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/senkaku-islands-04-eco--04_eco003.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Surveys Between the end of World War II and 1970, Part 2 (1970, 1971: University of the Ryukyus) |url=https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/senkaku-islands-04-eco--04_eco004.html |access-date=2020-09-03 |website=Review of Island Studies |archive-date=August 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193734/https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/senkaku-islands-04-eco--04_eco004.html |url-status=live }}</ref> with a 1980 survey finding that Uotsuri had 339 species of plants. These ecological communities varied based on altitude, with the communities being divided into windswept mountaintop vegetation with ''[[Podocarpus macrophyllus]]'' trees, with the understory including ''[[Liriope muscari]]'' and ''[[Rhaphiolepis umbellata]],'' inclined high forest including the palms ''[[Livistona chinensis]]'' and ''[[Arenga engleri]],'' lowland windswept shrub forest including ''[[Ficus microcarpa]]'' and ''[[Planchonella obovata]],'' and seashore plants. Minamikojima was much less diverse, and dominated by grasses, while Kitakojima only had sparse plant life.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Surveys following Okinawa's reversion to Japan (1979: Okinawa Development Agency) |url=https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/senkaku-islands-04-eco--04_eco005.html |access-date=2020-09-03 |website=Review of Island Studies |archive-date=June 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608060939/https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/senkaku-islands-04-eco--04_eco005.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Kuba has a forest near the crater, which includes a variety of flora including ''[[Ceodes umbellifera]], [[Macaranga tanarius]], [[Ficus benjamina]], [[Diospyros maritima]], [[Trema orientalis]], [[Machilus thunbergii]], and Livistona subglobosa,'' with forest floor plants being sparse.<ref name=":4" />

===Animals===
In an account by {{ill|Hisashi Kuroiwa|lt=Hisashi Kuroiwa|ja|黒岩恒|WD=}} in 1900, it was noted the large number of birds present on the islands, tens of thousands of [[Short-tailed albatross|short-tailed]] and [[black-footed albatross]] would flock on Uotsuri-shima, in the colder months, while hundreds of thousands of [[sooty tern]] and [[brown noddy]] would descend on Kitakojima and Minamikojima in the warmer months. He also described the air of Uotsuri as swarming with [[Calliphoridae|bluebottle flies]] and [[mosquito]]es. In the same year, an account by {{ill|Miyajima Mikinosuke|lt=Miyajima Mikinosuke|ja|宮島幹之助|WD=}}, surveying Kuba Island, noted the presence of [[Eurasian whimbrel|whimbrel]], [[Von Schrenck's bittern]], the [[streaked shearwater]], and the [[brown booby]]. Mikinosuke also noted the large number of [[chicken]]s and [[feral cat]]s on the island, with dozens of cats descending on the seabirds at night.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meiji Era surveys (1900: Kuroiwa and Miyajima) |url=https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/senkaku-islands-04-eco--04_eco001.html |access-date=2020-09-03 |website=Review of Island Studies |archive-date=June 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608051404/https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/senkaku-islands-04-eco--04_eco001.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Kitakojima and Minamikojima are one of only two significant breeding places of the rare [[short-tailed albatross]] (''Phoebastria albatrus'').<ref name=":3" /> The islands have been recognised as an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) by [[BirdLife International]].<ref name=bli>{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/senkaku-islands-iba-japan |title=Senkaku Islands |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2021 |website=BirdLife Data Zone |publisher=BirdLife International |access-date=1 February 2021 |archive-date=February 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203154047/http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/senkaku-islands-iba-japan |url-status=live }}</ref>

Uotsuri-shima, the largest island, has a number of endemic species such as the [[Senkaku mole]] (''Mogera uchidai'') and Okinawa-kuro-oo-ari ant. Due to the introduction of domestic goats to the island in 1978, the Senkaku mole is now an endangered species.<ref>Zoological Society of London, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100922150619/http://edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_info.php?id=68 EDGE (Evolutionary Distinct & Globally Endangered) Senkaku mole], 2006; retrieved November 15, 2010.</ref> The [[striped field mouse]] (''Apodemus agrarius'') has also been noted to be present on Uotsuri. Surveys from 1900 to 1953 and noted the presence of the [[Asian house shrew]], [[black rat]]s and [[Megabat|fruit bats]] but these were not noted in more recent surveys.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

Six species of reptile have been recorded from the islands, including ''[[Gekko hokouensis]]'' (Uotsuri, Minami) ''[[Eumeces elegans]]'' (Uotsuri, Minami), an indeterminate species of ''[[Scincella]]'' (Uotsuri) ''[[Ramphotyphlops braminus]]'' (Uotsuri) ''[[Elaphe carinata]]'' (Uotsuri) and ''[[Dinodon rufozonatus]]'' (Uotsuri).<ref name=":0" />

Rich marine biodiversity adjacent to the islands has been recognized but poorly studied. Seemingly, varieties of [[List of largest fish|larger fish]] and [[megafauna|animals]] inhabit or migrate through the area, including tunas, sharks, [[marlin]]s, critically endangered [[hawksbill sea turtle]]s, dolphins, [[pilot whale]]s, [[sperm whale]]s, and [[humpback whale]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://senkakushizen.iinaa.net/page111.html |title=尖閣諸島の自然 – 尖閣諸島の魚たち |access-date=April 6, 2016 |archive-date=August 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193605/http://senkakushizen.iinaa.net/page111.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Sovereignty dispute==
{{Main|Senkaku Islands dispute}}
Territorial sovereignty over the islands and the [[maritime boundary|maritime boundaries]] around them are disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, and Japan.

The People's Republic and Republic of China claim that the islands have been a part of Chinese territory since at least 1534. China acknowledges that Japan took control of the islands in 1894–1895 during the [[first Sino-Japanese War]], through the signature of the [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]]. China asserts that the [[Potsdam Declaration]] required that Japan relinquish control of all islands except for "the islands of Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū, Shikoku and such minor islands as we determine", and China states that this means control of the islands should pass to Republic of China, which was part of China at the time of the first Sino-Japanese War as well as of the San Francisco Peace Treaty. Both the People's Republic of China (PRC)<ref name="cihai">{{cite book|editor1=夏征农|editor2=陈至立|script-title=zh:辞海：第六版彩图本 |trans-title=[[Cihai]] (Sixth Edition in Color) |date=September 2009|location=上海. [[Shanghai]]|publisher=上海辞书出版社. [[Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House]].|isbn=9787532628599| language=zh|pages=2193–2194|quote={{lang|zh-hans|'''台湾省'''{...}包括台湾岛、澎湖列岛和赤尾屿、绿岛、兰屿、彭佳屿、钓鱼岛等岛屿。{...}钓鱼岛 黃尾屿 赤尾屿}}}}</ref> and the Republic of China (ROC)<ref name="revisedtyt">{{cite web|url=http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=Z00000045983|language=zh-tw|script-title=zh:教育部重編國語辭典修訂本|access-date=5 October 2019|quote=字詞 【釣魚臺】 注音 ㄉㄧㄠˋ ㄩˊ ㄊㄞˊ 漢語拼音 diào yú tái 釋義{...} 2 群島名。位於臺灣東北，距基隆一百零二海里，為我國領土的一部分。屬宜蘭縣，分為釣魚臺本島、黃尾嶼、赤尾嶼三部分。雖日本主張擁有群島主權，但根據明代陳侃的《使琉球錄》，郭汝霖的《重編使琉球錄》，胡宗憲的《籌海圖編》，以及日本林子平的《三國通覽圖說》等文獻，此島應屬臺灣附屬島嶼。}}</ref> respectively separately claim sovereignty based on arguments that include the following points:

* Discovery and early recordings in maps and travelogues.<ref name="gz.fjedu.gov.cn">[http://gz.fjedu.gov.cn/dili/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=18912 On the sovereignty of Diaoyu Islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229055333/http://gz.fjedu.gov.cn/dili/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=18912 |date=February 29, 2012 }} (论钓鱼岛主权的归属), Fujian Education Department {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #47 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>
* The islands being China's frontier off-shore defence against [[wokou]] (Japanese pirates) during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1911).
* A Chinese map of Asia, as well as the ''[[Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu]]'' map<ref name="revisedtyt" /> compiled by Japanese cartographer [[Hayashi Shihei]]<ref>"[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44014900] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430070530/https://www.worldcat.org/title/sangoku-tsuran-zusetsu/oclc/44014900%26referer%3Dbrief_results|date=April 30, 2019}}" {{verify source|date=August 2019|reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #48 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref> in the 18th century,<ref name="gz.fjedu.gov.cn" /> showing the islands as a part of China.<ref name="gz.fjedu.gov.cn" /><ref name="english.people.com.cn">[http://english.people.com.cn/200305/25/eng20030525_117192.shtml "China's Diaoyu Islands Sovereignty is Undeniable"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920032657/http://english.people.com.cn/200305/25/eng20030525_117192.shtml |date=September 20, 2010 }}, ''People's Daily'', 25 May 2003. Retrieved 24 February 2007. {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #49 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>
* Japan taking control of the islands in 1895 at the same time as the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] was happening. Furthermore, correspondence between Foreign Minister Inoue and Interior Minister Yamagata in 1885, warned against the erection of national markers and developing their land to avoid Qing Dynasty suspicions.<ref name="gz.fjedu.gov.cn" /><ref name="english.people.com.cn" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/qa_1010.html#qa08 |title=Q&A on the Senkaku Islands |work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan |access-date=30 October 2014 |archive-date=December 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209063711/http://www.mofa.go.jp//region//asia-paci//senkaku//qa_1010.html#qa08 |url-status=live }} {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #50 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>
* The [[Potsdam Declaration]] stating that "Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū, Shikoku and such minor islands as we determine", and "we" referred to the victors of the Second World War who met at [[Potsdam]] and Japan's acceptance of the terms of the Declaration when it surrendered.<ref name="english.people.com.cn" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://japanfocus.org/-koji-taira/2119 |title=Koji Taira |date=July 2, 2008 |publisher=Japan Focus |access-date=20 August 2012 |archive-date=August 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822000515/http://www.japanfocus.org/-Koji-Taira/2119 |url-status=live }} {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #51 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/etc/c06.html|title=Potsdam Declaration (full text)|access-date=30 October 2014|archive-date=January 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122210220/http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/etc/c06.html|url-status=live}} {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #52 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>
* China's formal protest of the [[Okinawa Reversion Agreement|1971 US transfer of control to Japan]].<ref>''[[People's Daily]]'', Beijing, China, 31 December 1971, Page 1, "An Declaration of The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, 1971–<!-- preserve format -->12-30" {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #53 - please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>

Japan does not accept that there is a dispute, asserting that the islands are an integral part of Japan.<ref>Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea (NILOS). (2000). {{Google books|6GOVS_0Zm6oC|''International Organizations and the Law of the Sea'', p. 108.|page=108}}</ref> Japan has rejected claims that the islands were under China's control prior to 1895, and that these islands were contemplated by the Potsdam Declaration or affected by the San Francisco Peace Treaty.<ref>Ji, [http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7rq2b069 pp. 11–12, 19.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806132625/http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7rq2b069 |date=August 6, 2012 }}</ref>

The stance given by the Japanese [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] is that the Senkaku Islands are clearly an inherent territory of Japan, in light of historical facts and based upon international law, and the Senkaku Islands are under the valid control of Japan. They also state "there exists no issue of territorial sovereignty to be resolved concerning the Senkaku Islands."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/qa_1010.html |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan |title=Q&A on the Senkaku Islands |access-date=August 30, 2019 |archive-date=December 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209063711/http://www.mofa.go.jp//region//asia-paci//senkaku//qa_1010.html |url-status=live }} {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #13 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE68N09H20100925 |title=Japan refuses China demand for apology in boat row |publisher=Reuter |date=25 September 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100928022824/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE68N09H20100925|url-status=dead |archive-date= 28 September 2010}} {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #62 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref> The following points are given:

* The islands had been uninhabited and showed no trace of having been under the control of China prior to 1895.<ref name="mofa.go.jp">{{cite web |url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/senkaku.html |title=The Basic View on the Sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands |website=www.mofa.go.jp |access-date=March 28, 2004 |archive-date=September 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100930044112/http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/senkaku.html |url-status=live }} {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #63 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>
* The purposes of maps and the intentions behind their creators can vary significantly, and the mere existence of an ancient map does not substantiate claims of territorial sovereignty. The map (1785) cited by China from [[Hayashi Shihei]] does not provide evidence that the creator's coloring was intended to indicate territorial sovereignty. This map also depicts Taiwan as only about one-third the size of Okinawa's main island, and it is colored differently from mainland China, [[Taiwan under Qing rule|which controlled Taiwan at the time]]. This suggests that the creator did not possess accurate knowledge.<ref name=":5" />
* The islands were neither part of [[Taiwan island|Taiwan]] nor part of the [[Penghu|Pescadores Islands]], which were ceded to Japan by the Qing Dynasty of China in Article II of the May 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki,<ref name="mofa.go.jp" /> thus were not renounced by Japan under Article II of the [[San Francisco Peace Treaty]], which serves as the international law addressing the aftermath of WW2.<ref>Satoru Sato, Press Secretary, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704129204575505141368553952 Letter to the Editor: Clarifying the Senkaku Islands Dispute] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114181634/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704129204575505141368553952 |date=November 14, 2017 }} ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', 21 September 2010 {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #64 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>
* A resident of Okinawa Prefecture who had been engaging in activities such as fishery around the Senkaku Islands since around 1884 made an application for the lease of the islands, and approval was granted by the Meiji Government in 1896. After this approval, he sent a total of 248 workers to those islands and ran the following businesses: constructing piers,<ref>{{cite video |title=[[:ja:池上彰スペシャル|Akira Ikegami Special]] なぜ日中は対立するのか？ 映像で見えてきた尖閣問題 |language=ja}} {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #65 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref> collecting bird feathers, manufacturing dried bonito, collecting coral, raising cattle, manufacturing canned goods and collecting mineral phosphate guano (bird manure for fuel use). The fact that the Meiji Government gave approval concerning the use of the Senkaku Islands to an individual, who in turn was able to openly run these businesses mentioned above based on the approval, demonstrates Japan's valid control over the Islands.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://nccuir.lib.nccu.edu.tw/bitstream/140.119/34418/7/61504107.pdf | script-title=zh:日本的東海政策 — 第四章：釣魚臺政策 | access-date=30 October 2013 | language=zh | archive-date=November 1, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101020732/http://nccuir.lib.nccu.edu.tw/bitstream/140.119/34418/7/61504107.pdf | url-status=dead }} {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #66 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>
* In May 1920, a thank-you letter from the Republic of China's consulate in Nagasaki regarding the rescue of Chinese fishermen in distress near the Senkaku Islands by Japanese fishermen included the notation "Senkaku Islands, Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture, Empire of Japan."<ref name=":5" />
* Though the islands were controlled by the United States as an occupying power between 1945 and 1972, Japan has since 1972 exercised administration over the islands.
* In 1953, the official Chinese newspaper [[People's Daily]] published an article that explicitly stated that the Ryukyu Islands consist of seven island groups, including the Senkaku Islands. Additionally, in the world atlas published by the China Map Press in 1958 (reprinted in 1960), these islands were clearly referred to as the "Senkaku Islands" and considered part of Okinawa.<ref name=":52">{{cite web |title=The Basic View on the Sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands |url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/senkaku.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100930044112/http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/senkaku.html |archive-date=September 30, 2010 |access-date=March 28, 2004 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan}} {{verify source|date=August 2019|reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #68 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>
* The Republic of China and the [[China|People's Republic of China]] only started claiming ownership of the islands in 1971, following a May 1969 United Nations report that a large oil and gas reserve may exist under the seabed near the islands.<ref>{{cite news |first=Masami |last=Ito |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120518f1.html |title=Jurisdiction over remote Senkakus comes with hot-button dangers |date=18 May 2012 |newspaper=[[Japan Times]] |access-date=May 17, 2012 |archive-date=May 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519185138/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120518f1.html |url-status=dead }} {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #67 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{cite web |url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/senkaku.html |title=The Basic View on the Sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan |access-date=March 28, 2004 |archive-date=September 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100930044112/http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/senkaku.html |url-status=live }} {{verify source |date=August 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted ([[Special:Diff/872123425]]) by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite at [[Special:Permalink/868444848]] cite #68 – please verify the cite's accuracy and remove this {verify source} template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>

In 2012 the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs created a webpage in support of its claims.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/index.html |title=Senkaku Islands |access-date=February 23, 2015 |archive-date=February 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226050405/http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/senkaku/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Separately, in a 2012 government statement Beijing declaring the [[Baseline (sea)|territorial-sea baselines]] for Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islets, framing the claimed 12-nautical-mile waters around the group.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statement of the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Baselines of the Territorial Sea of Diaoyu Dao and Its Affiliated Islands |url=https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/zy/jj/diaodao_665718/pl/202406/t20240606_11378061.html |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC |date=2012-09-10 |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> In late 2014 the National Marine Data and Information Service, a department under the State Oceanic Administration of China created a website of its own to support its claims.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.diaoyudao.org.cn/ |title=钓鱼岛_钓鱼岛是中国的固有领 (Diaoyu Islands |access-date=February 23, 2015 |archive-date=January 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150129133640/http://www.diaoyudao.org.cn/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/01/china-japan-dispute-over-islands-spreads-to-cyberspace/ |title=China-Japan Dispute Over Islands Spreads to Cyberspace |date=January 1, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=February 23, 2015 |archive-date=January 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113042641/http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/01/china-japan-dispute-over-islands-spreads-to-cyberspace/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

On 22 June 2020, the [[Ishigaki, Okinawa|Ishigaki]] City Council voted to change the name of the area containing the Senkaku Islands from "Tonoshiro" to "Tonoshiro Senkaku".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/06/22/national/ishigaki-senkaku-renaming/ |title=Ishigaki renames area containing Senkaku Islands, prompting backlash fears |work=The Japan Times |date=2020-06-22 |access-date=2020-09-16 |archive-date=August 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811211945/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/06/22/national/ishigaki-senkaku-renaming/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Republic of China's [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] responded that the islands belong to Republic of China, and any moves to deny this fact are invalid.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://international.thenewslens.com/article/136795 |title=Japan: Ishigaki City Council Votes to Inscribe 'Senkaku' Into Administrative Name of Disputed Islands |work=The News Lens |date=2020-06-22 |access-date=2020-09-16 |language=en |archive-date=August 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830202301/https://international.thenewslens.com/article/136795 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Taiwanese government and the opposition [[Kuomintang|KMT]] party also condemned the council's move, saying the Islands are [[Taiwan|ROC]] territory and the nation would not give up even "an inch" of its sovereignty.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2020/06/23/2003738693 |title=Nation protests Japan's Diaoyutai move |work=The Taipei Times |date=2020-06-23 |access-date=2020-09-16 |archive-date=September 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916184404/https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2020/06/23/2003738693 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== United States' position ===
The official and successive US position takes no stance on the ultimate sovereignty. During the 1971–72 reversion debate, the United States stated that it could only return to Japan what it had originally received, namely, administrative rights, not sovereignty. Accordingly, the Okinawa Reversion Agreement was structured to transfer administrative rights only and “does not affect the legal status” of the islands' sovereignty; successive US administrations have taken no position on ultimate sovereignty, while treating the controversy as a matter for the parties to resolve.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R42761 |title=The Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations |date=2021-03-01 |publisher=Congressional Research Service |quote=U.S. administrations ... take no position on who has sovereignty over the Senkakus ... State Department officials asserted that reversion of administrative rights to Japan did not prejudice any sovereignty claims. |access-date=2025-09-19}}

"The United States believes that a return of administrative rights over those islands to Japan, from which the rights were received, can in no way prejudice any underlying claims. The United States cannot add to the legal rights Japan possessed before it transferred administration of the islands to us, nor can the United States, by giving back what it received, diminish the rights of other claimants. The United States has made no claim to the Senkaku Islands and considers that any conflicting claims to the islands are a matter for resolution by the parties concerned."</ref><ref>{{cite report |url=https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R42761.pdf |title=The Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations |date=2017-02-10 |publisher=Congressional Research Service |quote=Secretary of State William Rogers answered that “this treaty does not affect the legal status of those islands at all.” |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> 

Both the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China protested the inclusion of the islets in the reversion arrangements and asserted their own claims: on 15 March 1971 the ROC submitted a note verbale in Washington asserting that Diaoyutai is ROC territory, to which the US replied that returning administrative rights to Japan would not affect ROC's sovereignty claims; PRC statements likewise rejected the reversion and asserted that Diaoyu Dao is China’s territory.<ref>{{cite web |date=2013-06-05 |title=ROC Government Response to the Diaoyutai Islands (Q&A) |url=https://multilingual.mofa.gov.tw/web/web_UTF-8/MOFA/ROC_Government_Response_to_the_Diaoyutai_Islands_Q%26A.pdf |access-date=2025-09-19 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan) |quote=As early as March 15, 1971, ROC Ambassador Chou Shu-kai sent a note verbale in protest ... The U.S. reply indicated that the transference of administrative rights to Japan would not affect the ROC’s sovereignty claim.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2012-10-11 |title=Japanese “sovereignty” claim over Diaoyu Islands never valid: facts and figures |url=https://us.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zt/DiaoyuDaoofChina/201210/t20121011_4911558.htm |access-date=2025-09-19 |publisher=Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States |quote=Department officials asserted that reversion of administrative rights to Japan did not prejudice any claims ... (PRC statements rejecting the reversion).}}</ref>

=== Post-2012 escalation ===
Since the 2012 flare-up, China has significantly increased its maritime and air activities surrounding the islands aimed at undermining Japan's long-standing physical control, prompting reciprocal responses from Japan. Chinese vessels have increasingly entered the contiguous zone adjacent to the territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands, with near-daily frequency, prompting the [[Japan Coast Guard]] to respond by consistently shadowing and issuing warnings.<ref name=":7" /> In 2013, China also established an [[Air Defense Identification Zone (East China Sea)|East China Sea ADIZ]] that includes the airspace over the Senkaku islands, which drew protests from Japan and was widely analyzed by international security sources.<ref>{{cite web |date=2015-01-30 |title=China’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) |url=https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R43894.pdf |access-date=2025-09-19 |publisher=Congressional Research Service}}</ref>

In August 2016 the Japanese foreign minister [[Fumio Kishida]] told China's foreign minister [[Wang Yi (politician)|Wang Yi]] "that the activity represented an escalation of tensions". It was the first meeting of the top diplomats since the [[Permanent Court of Arbitration]] ruling against [[South China Sea#2016 ruling|China's South China Sea claims]]<ref>Page, Jeremy, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-claim-to-most-of-south-china-sea-has-no-legal-basis-court-says-1468315137 "Tribunal Rejects Beijing's Claims to South China Sea"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228205039/https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-claim-to-most-of-south-china-sea-has-no-legal-basis-court-says-1468315137|date=February 28, 2017}}, Wall Street ''Journal'', July 12, 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-24.</ref><ref>Dyer, Geoff, and Tom Mitchell, [https://www.ft.com/content/52072080-4a6f-11e6-8d68-72e9211e86ab?exe=16q3beacon&segmentId=aba9d385-594c-f817-40cc-dfb8139984a9 "South China Sea: Building up trouble"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210190913/https://www.ft.com/content/52072080-4a6f-11e6-8d68-72e9211e86ab?exe=16q3beacon&segmentId=aba9d385-594c-f817-40cc-dfb8139984a9|date=February 10, 2017}}, ''Financial Times'', July 15, 2016. With high-resolution aerial image of [[Fiery Cross Reef]]. Retrieved 2016-08-24.</ref> and was coincident with a three-party meeting (including [[South Korea]]) relative to a [[North Korea|North Korean]] submarine-launched missile in the [[Sea of Japan]].<ref>Obe, Mitsuru, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-presses-china-on-vessels-sailing-near-disputed-islands-1472039715 "Japan Presses China on Vessels Sailing Near Disputed Islands"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205124056/https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-presses-china-on-vessels-sailing-near-disputed-islands-1472039715|date=February 5, 2017}}, Wall Street ''Journal'', August 24, 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-24.</ref>

The martime campaign of China has intensified since 2019, with its vessels attempting to harass Japanese fishing boats and China Coast Guard gaining legal authority in 2021 to fire on foreign ships.<ref name=":7" />

In 2024, media reporting based on [[Japan Coast Guard]] statistics described a near year-round presence of Chinese government vessels in the [[contiguous zone]] (355 days) and dozens of territorial-sea entries; [[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]] reported 42 such days,<ref>{{cite news |last=Takahashi |first=Kosuke |date=2025-01-02 |title=China Sets Record for Activity Near Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in 2024 |url=https://thediplomat.com/2025/01/china-sets-record-for-activity-near-senkaku-diaoyu-islands-in-2024/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |work=The Diplomat}}</ref> while ''Stars and Stripes'' cited Japan Coast Guard figures of 39 incursions within 12 nautical miles that year.<ref>{{cite news |date=2025-01-07 |title=China sets record for coast guard vessels spotted near Japan’s Senkakus in 2024 |url=https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-01-07/senkaku-islands-china-japan-16401727.html |access-date=2025-09-19 |work=Stars and Stripes}}</ref> On 21–24 March 2025, four [[China Coast Guard]] vessels remained inside waters claimed by Japan for a record 92 hours and 8 minutes, according to contemporary reports citing Japan Coast Guard releases.<ref>{{cite news |last=Takahashi |first=Kosuke |date=2025-03-25 |title=China Coast Guard Makes Its Longest Intrusion Into Disputed East China Sea Waters |url=https://thediplomat.com/2025/03/china-coast-guard-makes-its-longest-intrusion-into-disputed-east-china-sea-waters/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |work=The Diplomat}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2025-03-24 |title=Tensions rise as Chinese ships break record for presence in waters around Senkakus |url=https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-03-24/china-coast-guard-senkaku-japan-17244694.html |access-date=2025-09-19 |work=Stars and Stripes}}</ref> In May 2025, Japan and China exchanged accusations of an airspace violation near the islands following a China Coast Guard helicopter flight; both sides lodged protests.<ref>{{cite news |date=2025-05-04 |title=Japan and China trade accusations of airspace violation near disputed islands |url=https://apnews.com/article/japan-china-airspace-disputed-islands-3b2552ecc23e49131bbe88d19824396b |access-date=2025-09-19 |work=Associated Press}}</ref> Short-duration entries into waters claimed by Japan continued later in 2025, according to [[Jiji Press]] bulletins.<ref>{{cite web |date=2025-09-12 |title=4 Chinese Ships Sail in Japanese Waters off Senkakus |url=https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2025091200662/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=Nippon.com (Jiji Press)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2025-09-14 |title=2 Chinese Ships Enter Japanese Waters off Senkakus |url=https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2025091400190/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=Nippon.com (Jiji Press)}}</ref> More generally, wire-service reporting has chronicled routine instances in which the China Coast Guard announces patrols around Diaoyu Islands while the Japan Coast Guard issues warnings for Chinese vessels to leave waters claimed by Japan.<ref>{{cite news |date=2024-04-12 |title=China, Japan coast guards patrol disputed East China Sea waters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-japan-coast-guards-patrol-disputed-east-china-sea-waters-2024-04-12/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |work=Reuters}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
''[[Diaoyu Islands: The Truth]]'' is a documentary film produced by Chris D. Nebe and J.J. Osbun of Monarex Hollywood Corporation and directed by Chris D. Nebe. Nebe calls on the Japanese Government to cede the islands to China, asserting that Japan has no justifiable claim to the islands, and that the [[United States|United States of America]] has turned a blind eye in Japan's favor due to the need of the United States to have a strong ally between it and China. Reception of the film was positive in Chinese media, while the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]'s ''[[Correspondents Report (Australian radio program)|Correspondents Report]]'' called Nebe a 'Chinese propagandist' in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/content/2014/s3997182.htm|title=From porn to propaganda: The Truth|work=ABC Television|date=May 4, 2014|access-date=April 7, 2022|archive-date=August 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193606/https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/correspondentsreport|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018 the [[National Museum of Territory and Sovereignty (Japan)|National Museum of Territory and Sovereignty]] (currently located in the Toranomon Mitsui Building, [[Chiyoda, Tokyo]]) was established by the Japanese government to raise public awareness of Japanese [[Territorial dispute|territorial rights issues]] concerning the Senkaku Islands, as well as issues concerning territorial claims to [[Liancourt Rocks|Takeshima]] and [[Kuril Islands dispute|southernmost Kuril Islands]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-01-25 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/japan-displays-documents-to-defend-claims-to-disputed-isles/2018/01/24/c9333f42-0187-11e8-86b9-8908743c79dd_story.html |title=Japan displays documents to defend claims to disputed isles |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=Associated Press|access-date=2018-01-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126185106/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/japan-displays-documents-to-defend-claims-to-disputed-isles/2018/01/24/c9333f42-0187-11e8-86b9-8908743c79dd_story.html|archive-date=2018-01-26}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Desert island]]
* [[Kuril Islands]]
* [[List of islands]]
* [[Okinotorishima]]
* [[Paracel Islands]]
* [[Spratly Islands]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Edward Belcher|Belcher, Edward]] and Arthur Adams. (1848). ''Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang, During the Years 1843–46: Employed Surveying the Islands of the Eastern Archipelago''. London : Reeve, Benham, and Reeve. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/192154 OCLC 192154] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507160001/http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/192154 |date=May 7, 2022 }}
* [[Jonathan Charney|Charney, Jonathan I.]], David A. Colson, Robert W. Smith. (2005). ''International Maritime Boundaries'', 5 vols. Hotei Publishing: Leiden. {{ISBN|9780792311874}}; {{ISBN|9789041119544}}; {{ISBN|9789041103451}}; {{ISBN|9789004144613}}; {{ISBN|9789004144798}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23254092  OCLC 23254092]
* [[Alexander George Findlay|Findlay, Alexander George]]. (1889). ''A Directory for the Navigation of the Indian Archipelago and the Coast of China''. London:  R. H. Laurie. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/55548028  OCLC 55548028] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193606/https://search.worldcat.org/title/55548028 |date=August 27, 2024 }}
* Hagström, Linus. (2005). ''Japan's China Policy: A Relational Power Analysis''. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-34679-5}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/475020946  OCLC 475020946] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827193719/https://search.worldcat.org/title/475020946 |date=August 27, 2024 }}
* [[Kiyoshi Inoue|Inoue, Kiyoshi]]. (1972) Senkaku Letto /Diaoyu Islands The Historical Treatise. Kyoto: Daisan Publisher (出版社: 第三書館) (1996/10)[https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4807496123  「尖閣」列島―釣魚諸島の史的解明 &#91;単行本&#93;] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120717204607/http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4807496123 |date=July 17, 2012 }}. {{ISBN|978-4-8074-9612-9}}; also hosted in here [http://www.mahoroba.ne.jp/~tatsumi/dinoue0.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626064957/http://www.mahoroba.ne.jp/~tatsumi/dinoue0.html |date=June 26, 2014 }} for online reading (set to Shift-JIS character code), with [http://www.skycitygallery.com/japan/diaohist.html English synopsis here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309144855/http://www.skycitygallery.com/japan/diaohist.html |date=March 9, 2021 }}. Chinese translation by Ying Hui, Published by Commercial Press Hong Kong (1973) [http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1723970?lookfor=author:%22%E4%BA%95%E4%B8%8A%E6%B8%85,%201913-%22&offset=3&max=18 釣魚列島的歷史和主權問題 / 井上清著 ; 英慧譯] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614143225/http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1723970?lookfor=author:%22%E4%BA%95%E4%B8%8A%E6%B8%85,%201913-%22&offset=3&max=18 |date=June 14, 2011 }}, {{ISBN|9622574734}}.
* Jarrad, Frederick W. (1873). ''The China Sea Directory, Vol. IV. Comprising the Coasts of Korea, Russian Tartary, the Japan Islands, Gulfs of Tartary and Amúr, and the Sea of Okhotsk''. London: Hydrographic Office, Admiralty. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/557221949 OCLC 557221949]
* {{citation |last=Lai |first=Yew Meng |year=2013 |title=Nationalism and Power Politics in Japan's Relations with China: A Neoclassical Realist Interpretation |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=2QmCAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA208 208] |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-22977-0}}
* Lee, Seokwoo, Shelagh Furness and Clive Schofield. (2002). ''Territorial disputes among Japan, China and Republic of China concerning the Senkaku Islands''. Durham: University of Durham, [http://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/  International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018082015/http://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/ |date=October 18, 2009 }}. {{ISBN|978-1-897643-50-1}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/title/territorial-disputes-among-japan-china-and-Republic of China-concerning-the-senkaku-islands/oclc/249501645?referer=di&ht=edition  OCLC 249501645] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420162042/https://www.worldcat.org/title/territorial-disputes-among-japan-china-and-Republic |date=April 20, 2023 }}
* Suganuma, Unryu. (2000). ''Sovereign Rights and Territorial Space in Sino-Japanese Relations''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8248-2159-3}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/170955369  OCLC 170955369]
* Valencia, Mark J. (2001). ''Maritime Regime Building: Lessons Learned and Their Relevance for Northeast Asia''. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. {{ISBN|9789041115805}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/174100966  OCLC 174100966]
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Library resources box}}{{Commons category}}
{{refbegin}}
* Donaldson, John and Alison Williams. "Understanding Maritime Jurisdictional Disputes: The East China Sea and Beyond", ''[[Journal of International Affairs]]'', Vol. 59, No. 1. {{JSTOR|24358237 }}.
* Dzurek, Daniel. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100222122739/http://www-ibru.dur.ac.uk/resources/docs/senkaku.html  "The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute"], [[International Boundaries Research Unit]] ([[IBRU]]). October 18, 1996.
* Helflin, William B. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100928092444/http://www.hawaii.edu/aplpj/articles/APLPJ_01.2_heflin.pdf  "Daiyou/Senkaku Islands Dispute: Japan and China, Oceans Apart"],  1 ''[[Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal]]'', pp.&nbsp;1–22 (2000).
* O'Hanlon, Michael E. ''The Senkaku Paradox: Risking Great Power War Over Small Stakes'' (Brookings Institution, 2019) [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55868 online review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217095037/https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55868 |date=February 17, 2022 }}
* Peterson, Alexander M. [https://organizations.lawschool.cornell.edu/ilj/issues/42.3/CIN305.pdf  "Sino-Japanese Cooperation in the East China Sea: A Lasting Arrangement?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618131307/http://organizations.lawschool.cornell.edu/ilj/issues/42.3/CIN305.pdf |date=June 18, 2010 }} 42 ''[[Cornell International Law Journal]]'', pp.&nbsp;441–474 (2009).
* Ramos-Mrosovsky, Carlos. [http://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/jil/articles/volume29/issue4/RamosMrosovsky29U.Pa.J.Int'lL.903(2008).pdf "International Law's Unhelpful Role in the Senkaku Islands"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220102636/https://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/jil/articles/volume29/issue4/RamosMrosovsky29U.Pa.J.Int%27lL.903%282008%29.pdf |date=February 20, 2017 }}, 29 ''[[University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law]]'', pp.&nbsp;903–946 (2008).
* Sunohara, Tsuyoshi. ''Fencing in the Dark: Japan, China, and the Senkakus'' (Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2020) [https://www.jpicinternational.com/books/politicalscience/75ff44af0065ce830448cb4bc82be9d38331fc06.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307071634/https://www.jpicinternational.com/books/politicalscience/75ff44af0065ce830448cb4bc82be9d38331fc06.html |date=March 7, 2023 }}
{{refend}}{{Territorial disputes in East and South Asia}}
{{Portal bar|Politics|Republic of China|China|Japan|Islands}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Senkaku Islands| ]]
[[Category:Archipelagoes of Japan]]
[[Category:Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:China–Japan border]]
[[Category:Cross-strait relations]]
[[Category:Disputed islands of Asia]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of the Nansei Islands]]
[[Category:Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture]]
[[Category:Islands of Taiwan]]
[[Category:Sakishima Islands]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of China]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of Japan]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of the Republic of China]]
[[Category:Uninhabited islands of China]]
[[Category:Uninhabited islands of Japan]]