On September 7th, 2010 a Chinese fishing craft collided with two Japanese coastguard patrol boats near the oil-rich, uninhabited islands in the East China Sea known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu, meaning ‘fishing platform’, in China. "Diaoyutai" redirects here. For the Chinese state guesthouse, see Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
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Senkaku Islands
Disputed islands
Other names:
Japanese: 尖閣諸島 (Senkaku Islands)
Chinese: 釣魚台列嶼 (Tiaoyutai Islands)
or 钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿 (Diaoyu Islands)
Pinnacle Islands
Diaoyutai senkaku.png
Location of the islands (yellow rectangle and inset).
Geography
Senkaku Diaoyu Tiaoyu Islands.png
Location Pacific Ocean
Coordinates 25°44′41.49″N 123°28′29.79″E
Total islands 5 + 3 rocks
Major islands Uotsuri-shima / Diaoyu Dao
Taishō-tō / Chiwei Yu
Kuba-shima / Huangwei Yu
Kita-Kojima / Bei Xiaodao
Minami-Kojima / Nan Xiaodao
Area 7 square kilometres (1,700 acres)
Administered by
Japan
City Ishigaki, Okinawa[1][2]
Claimed by
Japan
City Ishigaki, Okinawa
People's Republic of China
County Yilan County, Taiwan Province[3]
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Township Toucheng, Yilan County, Taiwan Province[4][5]
The Senkaku Islands (尖閣諸島 Senkaku-shotō?, variants: 尖閣群島 Senkaku-guntō[6] and 尖閣列島 Senkaku-rettō[7]), also known as the Diaoyu Islands (Chinese: 钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿; pinyin: Diàoyúdǎo jí qí fùshǔ dǎoyǔ; also simply 钓鱼岛) or Diaoyutai Islands (Chinese: 釣魚台列嶼; pinyin: Diàoyútái liè yǔ) in China and in Taiwan,[8][9][10][11] or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of uninhabited islands controlled by Japan in the East China Sea. They are located roughly due east of China, northeast of Taiwan, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands.
Following the discovery of potential undersea oil reserves in 1968 in the area and the 1971 transfer of administrative control of the islands from the United States to Japan, the latter's sovereignty over the territory is disputed by both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (also known as Taiwan).[12][13][14][15][16] China claims the discovery and ownership of the islands from the 14th century, while Japan had ownership of the islands from 1895 until its surrender at the end of World War II. The United States administered the islands as part of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands from 1945 until 1972, when the islands returned to Japanese control under the Okinawa Reversion Agreement between the United States and Japan.[17]
The islands are disputed in the between China and Japan and between Japan and Taiwan.[18] Despite the diplomatic stalemate between the China and Taiwan, both governments agree that the islands are part of Taiwan as part of Toucheng Township in Yilan County. Japan regards the islands as a part of the city of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture, and acknowledges neither the claims of China nor Taiwan but has not allowed the Ishigaki administration to develop the islands.