By TAKASHI FUNAKOSHI/ Correspondent
April 27, 2021 at 14:26 JST
A topographical map of Uotsurishima island, the largest of the Senkaku Islands, released by the Chinese government (Captured from a Chinese government website)
BEIJING--The Chinese government has released a topographical study of the disputed Senkaku Islands off Okinawa Prefecture in an apparent bid to bolster its territorial claims.
China’s Ministry of Natural Resources released a report on April 26 with topographical maps based on satellite observations.
The report said there is “major significance in protecting the ecosystem and managing natural resources in the Diaoyu Islands and surrounding waters.”
Beijing refers to the small group of disputed islands claimed by both China and Japan as the Diaoyu Islands.
The report may have been released to counter a report issued in March by Japan’s Environment Ministry. That study concerned breeding by short-tailed albatross on the Senkaku Islands, and it was also based on an analysis of satellite images.
Since the 1990s, the Chinese government has dispatched maritime study ships to waters near the Senkaku Islands, but it has rarely used satellites for such studies until now.
The Chinese report said it used satellites to generate high-resolution topographical data to create the most up-to-date topographical map available.
The report also claims to have obtained data of the shallow area off the coast of the islands to a depth of about 30 meters.
It uses satellite photos and maps to describe in detail Uotsurishima, the largest of the islands. The report states that two hills on the central-southern part of the island have heights of 362 and 320 meters, with cliffs along the southern coast and a gradual slope on the northern side.
The report states that erosion on two of the smaller islands, which Japan calls Kita-Kojima and Minami-Kojima, has led to large undulations in the topography.
The Chinese government is hosting the results of the report on an exclusive website where it explains its stance toward the islands, likely to shore up its claim that the islands are Chinese territory.
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