Another Disputed Island

The project was to maintain Japan’s interest in the sea far south from its mainland. Five were killed and two are still missing in the accident around the southernmost land of Japan. They were workers for a construction to reinforce the small island to survive waves and winds. It reminded of China’s dispute that those islands were too small to call “land.” The accident invoked that unstable situation in East China Sea was not only about Senkaku Island.

The workers were at the operation of sliding a huge footing with piles from the deck of a ship to the sea surface. After the move, the footing would be floating on the sea and piles would support it standing on the sea base. In spite of top constructors in Japan joining the project, the accident happened unexpectedly. While the companies are investigating the reason why the footing fell down, some think that rough waves tore down the architecture with unstable structure.

The project was to protect a coral reef, which had been named Okinotorishima, Japan’s southernmost island on the Pacific Ocean. Located one thousand miles away from Tokyo, the island possesses 420 thousand square kilometers of exclusive economic zone. While the reef has seven square kilometers, constant land without sinking below the sea surface is quite small. Officially registered land has only nine square meters.

That was why the government of Japan started the project to surround the land with concrete buildings to protect the island in 1987. After finding of rare metal in the sea base around the island, Japanese government began to build a new port with a cost of ¥75 billion. When the project is completed, the footing would become a pier for researching ships.

China is appealing the island is not simply an island, but a rock on the ocean, which does not consist of land for EEZ. It is considered to be China’s interest in raw materials around there and further advance in the East China Sea. The Coastguard of Japan confirmed two Chinese ships cruising in the EEZ without notification to Japan last July.

Although the island is unequivocal territory of Japan, the accident spotlighted the existence of dispute over Okinotorishima. Japanese government wanted to finish the project without being acknowledged by the public. Silent effort of maintaining Japan’s sea interest was revealed by an accidental event. In the situation of unstable relationship with China, the government of Japan will need to raise its alert around Okinotorishima. It is setting observation camera on the footing to watch unidentified attempt to land the island, which may invite further dispute on it.