Although there are historical records in maps and travelogues
suggesting the islands were part of China’s frontier, most
observers would point out that the PRC started to claim
sovereignty over the islands in the 1970s, especially after the
reports on the existence of oil in the area
• China, or for that mater, Taiwan, argue that there is
documentary proof before the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895
indicating Chinese possession ; the territory was a Japanese
seizure as a result of the defeat of China by Japan in the War
and should be returned to the original owner when Japan
relinquished all seized territories at the end of the second
world war in 1945