Japanese fishermen unfazed by island row
Reuters
2012-09-20
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Away from a diplomatic row between Tokyo and Beijing over disputed islets, and all is quiet on the Japanese island of Ishigaki.
Just 90 miles (145 kilometres) away sits the island chain at the centre of a territorial dispute.
Tensions have recently flared, with days of angry protests in China, and Chinese patrol ships sailing to the area in the East China Sea.
Some Japanese fishermen here, who sometimes enter the waters, said they were weary of the dispute heating up.
But many insisted it was business as usual.
SOUNDBITE: LOCAL FISHERMAN WHO DECLINED TO GIVE HIS NAME AND HAS BEEN FISHING FROM ISHIGAKI FOR 45 YEARS, SAYING (Japanese):
"It's just the same as always - the Chinese patrol boats don't come right up to the islands, but they've been coming into the waters around them every year."
Known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, the island chain is part of a long running row.
The islets are believed to be in an area potentially rich in oil and gas fields.
Just 90 miles (145 kilometres) away sits the island chain at the centre of a territorial dispute.
Tensions have recently flared, with days of angry protests in China, and Chinese patrol ships sailing to the area in the East China Sea.
Some Japanese fishermen here, who sometimes enter the waters, said they were weary of the dispute heating up.
But many insisted it was business as usual.
SOUNDBITE: LOCAL FISHERMAN WHO DECLINED TO GIVE HIS NAME AND HAS BEEN FISHING FROM ISHIGAKI FOR 45 YEARS, SAYING (Japanese):
"It's just the same as always - the Chinese patrol boats don't come right up to the islands, but they've been coming into the waters around them every year."
Known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, the island chain is part of a long running row.
The islets are believed to be in an area potentially rich in oil and gas fields.
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