Japan to rename islands disputed with China 

Japan to rename islands disputed with China 

Part of: GS Prelims and Mains II – International Affairs

In news:

• Japan approved plans to change the name of the area covering the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands — known by Taiwan and China as the Diaoyus — from “Tonoshiro” to “Tonoshiro Senkaku”.
• China said the move is illegal and a “serious provocation”.
• Senkaku Islands are at the centre of a festering row between Japan and China.

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Key Prelims Pointers:

• The Senkaku Islands dispute, or Diaoyu Islands dispute, concerns a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands located in East China Sea known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, the Diaoyu Islands in the China. 
• It is roughly to east of mainland China, northeast of Taiwan, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands.
• They are currently controlled by Japan. But both China and Taiwan claim sovereignty over the islands.
• Oil and gas reserves had been identified under the seabed surrounding the islands and it makes the dispute tougher to resolve.