China's Militarized 'Fishing Fleets' Try to Wrest Control of Senkaku Islands from Japan

For more than a decade, China has sought to seize control of the Senkaku Islands by means of its "fishing fleets," the vast presence of which effectively endangers the livelihood of local Japanese fishermen. "The Chinese ships are armed," Hitoshi Nakama, an Okinawan councilor-turned-fisherman, told JAPAN Forward. "The patrol vessels have cannons mounted on the decks."

Located in the East China Sea, the abundant waters surrounding the Senkaku Islands are home to vastly diverse plants and animals, presenting rich and desirable fishing grounds.

The Senkaku Islands were formally incorporated into Japanese territory in 1895, an ownership that was reaffirmed both after World War II in the San Francisco Peace Treaty and in 1972 by the Okinawa Reversion Agreement.

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