Much has been written and said concerning five uninhabited islets and three barren rocks in the East China Sea, which are known as the ‘Diaoyu’ in China and ‘senkaku’ in Japan. While such a small territory might seem to be of little significance, the islets and rocks have come to be of strategic importance due to their location and the maritime resources in their vicinity. While they have been under Japanese control since the SinoJapanese war of 7894-7895, the islets have been claimed both by the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China ever since that time, and there have been spikes of tension in the relationship between the neighbouring nations.