It all comes down to black gold. Anti-Japan protests erupted in at least 100 Chinese cities on Tuesday, as anger over a struggle for control of oil and gas in the East China Sea turned violent, and increased the tension between the countries.
The focal point is a dispute over a remote island chain known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, lying east of China and south-west of Japan (see map). The US handed them to Japan after the second world war, but China says that it has a prior claim. Japan recently purchased several of the islands back from a private Japanese owner, and their nationalisation has ratcheted up anger in China.
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鈥淭here is potential oil and gas,鈥� says of the US Geological Survey. It鈥檚 not clear how much is there, or whether it would be economical to drill for it.
However, , many of which have only been discovered in recent decades. China and Japan are both eager to stake a claim: China鈥檚 energy demand is growing rapidly, and Japan鈥檚 reserves are limited.
