UPDATES IN THE CHINA-JAPAN CONTROVERSY:

Sarah,

Last week I gave some background on a dispute dispute between China and Japan over a chain of uninhabited islands.

Here are the latest developments:

1. Last week, the Japanese government bought the islands from the Japanese family that supposedly owned them for $26 million.  The deal was spearheaded by Tokyo’s Governor, a strident nationalist.

2.  Today, China announced that it is sending paramilitary ships to the island for “surveillance”.  China also announced that it has plans for safeguarding the islands and that it considers the sale of the islands to the Japanese government illegal and invalid. (because China owns the islands)