Senkaku Islands

English

Etymology

Partial calque of Japanese 尖閣諸島(せんかくしょとう) (senkakushotō) / 尖閣群島(せんかくぐんとう) (senkakuguntō) / 尖閣列島(せんかくれっとう) (senkakurettō).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛŋkɑːku ˈaɪləndz/
• enPR: sānʹkäko͝o-go͞ontō

Proper noun

Senkaku Islands

1. A chain of islands in the Sakishima islands of Ishigaki, Okinawa prefecture, Japan, in the East China Sea (claimed by China and Toucheng Township, Yilan County, Taiwan (ROC)).
   • 1950 [1940 December 4], Masamitsu Ōshima, “A symposium on the investigation of tuna and skipjack spawning grounds”, in Spawning Grounds of Tuna and Skipjack‎^[1], Fish and Wildlife Service, →OCLC, page 5:

     There are, however, localities where small skipjack are caught throughout the year such as in the Senkaku Islands off Miyako.

   • 1970, 1969 News Dictionary‎^[2], Facts on File, →ISBN, page 233:

     Japanese geologists reported that huge oil deposits had been discovered in the area of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea during a survey conducted June 4 to July 13.

   • 1975, J.A.A. Stockwin, “Issues of Foreign Policy and Defense”, in Japan: Divided Politics in a Growth Economy‎^[3], 2nd American edition, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, published 1982, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 265:

     Although the problem of who owned some small islands between Taiwan and Okinawa (the Senkaku Islands) was easily disposed of, Japan’s continued de facto connections with Taiwan were more difficult to reconcile with the Peking relationship.

   • 1979 July 8, “ROC keeps watch on situation of Nicaragua”, in Free China Weekly‎^[4], volume XX, number 26, Taipei, page 1:

     At the same press conference, King also reiterated the nation's sovereignty over Tiaoyutai, or Senkaku islands, as the Japanese call them.
     "The Republic of China's sovereignty over the island group shall not be affected by any measure taken by any party," he said.
     King condemned the Peiping regime for offering to prospect for resources around the islands in cooperation with Japan.

   • 2012 November 11, Antoni Slodkowski, Junko Fukita, Kimiteru Tsuruta, Kevin Krolicki, “How debts and double-dealing sparked Japan-China islets row”, in Ron Popeski, editor, Reuters‎^[5], archived from the original on 2016-03-06, World‎^[6]:

     On September 11, Japan announced it had nationalised three of the Senkaku islands, generating outrage in China, where a Communist Party Congress opened last week to put in place new leaders who will face the challenge of re-engaging with Japan.

   • 2015 February 1, Sumio Kusaka, “Japan and Its Territorial Claims”, in The New York Times‎^[7], archived from the original on 03 March 2015, Opinion Letters‎^[8]:

     It is absurd to suggest that the Japanese government “dismisses as partial the terms of the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty.” The Senkaku Islands were not included in the territories which Japan renounced under the treaty. They were placed under the administration of the United States as part of the Japanese Nansei Islands. The article’s suggestion that resources might be the reason behind Japan’s claim ignores the fact that it was China that suddenly began to make its territorial claims on the Senkaku Islands in the 1970s, only after a United Nations report indicated the potential existence of oil reserves in the area. Until then, China had not contested Japan’s sovereignty for over 70 years.

   • 2022 April 25, Mari Yamaguchi, “Japan to send envoy to Solomons amid worry over China pact”, in AP News‎^[9], archived from the original on 25 April 2022:

     Japan sees China’s increasingly assertive military activity in the East and South China seas as a threat in some of the world’s busiest sea lanes.
     Japan is especially concerned about Chinese military and coast guard activity in the East China Sea near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls Diaoyu.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Senkaku Islands.

Synonyms

• (from Mandarin Chinese) Diaoyu Islands, Diaoyutai Islands, Diaoyutai, Dioayu, Tiaoyu, Tiaoyutai, Tiaoyutai Islands, Tiaoyu Islands
• Pinnacle Islands

Translations

islands

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 釣魚臺群島／钓鱼台群岛 (Diàoyútái qúndǎo), 釣魚島／钓鱼岛 (zh) (Diàoyúdǎo), 釣魚臺／钓鱼台 (zh) (Diàoyútái)

• French: Îles Senkaku f pl, îles Diaoyutai f pl
• German: Senkaku-Inseln f pl, Diaoyu-Inseln f pl, Diaoyutai-Inseln f pl
• Japanese: 尖閣諸島 (せんかくしょとう, Senkaku shotō)
• Korean: 센카쿠 열도 (Senkaku yeoldo), 조어도 (Jo'eodo)
• Russian: Сэнка́ку m (Sɛnkáku) (indeclinable), Дяоюйта́й m (Djaojujtáj)
• Spanish: Islas Senkaku f
• Vietnamese: quần đảo Senkaku, quần đảo Điếu Ngư, quần đảo Điếu Ngư Đài

Further reading

• Leon E. Seltzer, editor (1952), “Senkaku-gunto”, in The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World‎^[10], Morningside Heights, NY: Columbia University Press, →OCLC, page 1733, column 1
• Saul B. Cohen, editor (1998), “Senkaku-gunto”, in The Columbia Gazetteer of the World‎^[11], volume 3, New York: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 2865, column 2
• “Senkaku Islands”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “Senkaku Islands”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Senkaku Islands” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.