A People’s Republic of China Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced plans on the part of the PRC to routinely fly surveillance aircraft into the disputed areas around the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in response to Japanese claims that their airspace is being violated. The area to the north of the disputed island chain is speculated to contain billions in natural gas and oil deposits, making the relatively worthless rocks a point of bitter contention between the two regional rivals. Tensions do not seem to be lessening any time soon and recent military developments in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leave China more than well-equipped to exert territorial control if it needs to do so.
Comments are closed.