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| Southern Island: Okinawa Anti-U.S. bases Protests Sunday September 9, 2012 |
Shadow story: U.S.-occupied oil reserves
Re-reporting, editing by
Carolyn Bennett
Okinawa
In the East China Sea, Japan’s Okinawa Island is the largest
in the Ryukyu Islands archipelago. Its population is 1,361,594. Its offshore
wells yield petroleum. The United States occupies the island. Islanders protest the occupation.
Sixty-seven years ago, U.S. troops landed on the heavily-defended Okinawa
Island and three months of bloody warfare left approximately 12,000 U.S.
forces dead, 36,000 wounded; and approximately
100,000 Japanese dead. U.S. forces established complete control of the island
and in 1972 returned Okinawa Island to Japan but retained extensive U.S.
military installations.
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| Anti-Japanese protests in China |
Current affairs: Okinawa Island in the mix of Far East tensions
Today anti-Japanese demonstrations are occurring in China over
resources and disputed islands in the East China Sea. The disputed islands (called
by Japan Senkaku Islands, by China Diaoyu Islands) are located roughly between Okinawa and Taiwan. Japan
controls them; China claims they are part of its historical territory.
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| Seas, resources Conflict, occupation East/South China Sea |
This international conflict, as others to Asia’s west, is not merely
about the land but about what lies underground, in the sea. In addition to rich
fishing grounds in the disputed territories, there are, the French press is
reporting, “Potentially huge reserves of oil and natural gas.”
A country that establishes ownership of rocks in the middle
sea affirms and vastly increases its “exclusive economic zones (EEZ) or a sea
zone” where a state then retains exclusive rights “to exploit and extract
natural resources.”
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports Chinese
and foreign estimates showing East China Sea (Okinawa Island home) untapped oil
reserves at 100 to 160 billion barrels of oil.
For the South China Sea, estimates range from 28 to 213
billion barrels of potential oil reserves.
Japan is under fire and in China this week the Japanese have
reportedly suspended operations in several of their plants and increased security
around the Japanese embassy in Beijing.
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| Women in crosshairs of occupation |
Dark Shadow in Asia’s continuing conflict
Japanese politician and Prime Minister of Japan Yukio
Hatoyama (September 16, 2009- June 2, 2010) saw his country “still in Cold War
mode” and quit his post as Prime Minister over the issue of U.S. occupation. He said
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| Okinawans protest U.S. occupation |
The
idea of having one nation’s military based on another’s soil and depending on
its military is not something seen anywhere else in the world.
I
felt this was something the Japanese people couldn’t avoid confronting.
The
land needs to be returned to the people of Okinawa.
Sources and notes
“China protests continue over island dispute with Japan” (Joseph
BAMAT), September 18, 2012,
http://www.france24.com/en/20120918-china-anti-japan-protests-overview-disputed-islands-east-asia-eez-oil
“Another Okinawa Battle” (David McNeill), February 9, 2011,
http://thediplomat.com/tokyo-notes/2011/02/09/another-okinawa-battle/
Wikipedia note
Okinawa Prefecture (a Prefecture is an administrative
jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries, in antiquity a Roman
district governed by an appointed prefect) located in southern Japan, consisting
of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1,000 kilometers (620 mi)
long, extending southwest from Kyūshū (the most southwestern of Japan’s main
four islands) to Taiwan.
Okinawa’s capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of
Okinawa Island. The disputed Senkaku Islands are administered as part of
Okinawa Prefecture.
Worldatlas notes Japan, Okinawa (U.S. connection with East
China Sea)
Partial timeline
(1820) China and Japan accounted for approximately half of
the world's GDP
(1853) US Navy Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Uraga,
demanded that Japan open to trade
(1854) Japan and U.S. signed Treaty of Peace and Amity, two
ports were opened for trade
(1855) Russia, Japan establish diplomatic relations
(1864) British, French, Dutch, American warships bombed
Choshu, forced Japan to open more ports for foreign trade
(1894) Japan and China went to war, Japan declared victory
in nine months
(1895) China ceded Taiwan to Japan, allows trading
(1937) Japan launched invasion of China
(1937) Japan captured Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing
(1937) Japanese forces committed major atrocities, including
killing of 300,000 Chinese civilians
(1940) Japan became allies of Germany and Italy in World War
II
(1941) Japan launched surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the
U.S. Naval Base in Hawaii, sunk 12 ships, damaged nine, nearly 2,500 people
killed
(1941) U. S. and its allies declared war on Japan
(1942) Japan occupied Burma, Philippines, Dutch East Indies,
Malaya
(1942) U.S. cut off Japanese support lines
(1945) U.S. drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima, Nagasaki
(1945) Japan surrenders, placed under U.S. military
government, all military and naval forces were disbanded, Emperor Hirohito
relinquished status
(1947) New constitution ratified, all adults became eligible
to vote
(1951) Japan signs peace treaties with United States and
other nations
(1952) Allied occupation of Japan ended, regained its
independence
(1956) Japan became member of United Nations
U.S. on Okinawa Island
(1972) Okinawa
returned to Japanese; U.S. retained military base
(1995) Mass protests demanding removal of U.S. forces from Okinawa broke out after U.S. servicemen
raped local schoolgirl
(2009) City on Okinawa
elect mayor opposed to hosting military base; Prime Minister Hatoyama claims
Japan has to rethink U.S. military bases
(2010) Prime Minister Hatoyama resigned after failing to
close U.S. military base on Okinawa,
succeeded by Naoto Kan
(2012) U.S. and Japan reached agreement to move thousands of
U.S. Marines from Okinawa, did not
reach agreement on closing the airbase
Maps: Worldatlas, Britannica, other sources
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