Territory - Diaoyu Islands

State Responsibility

The diplomatic showdown between Japan and China over the arrest of the captain of a Chinese trawler near Diaoyu Islands ended with Japan releasing the captain after over two weeks of detention. Chinese FM issued a statement demanding Japan's apology and compensation for its action which "seriously infringed upon China's territorial sovereignty and violated the human rights of Chinese citizens". Refusing China's demands, Japan somehow concluded that Beijing should pay damages for the collision between the Chinese trawler and two Japanese Coast Guard vessels, an incident clearly unattributable to the Chinese Government. Meanwhile, the Chinese government decided to regularly deploy its fisheries patrol boats near the Diaoyu Islands to protect the safety of China's fishermen.