2012-12-24 — Perched on a narrow promontory jutting off Taiwan’s heavily industrialized northeastern coast, the Suao naval base is only 220 kilometers (140 miles) from a rocky group of islets at the center of a bitter territorial dispute between Japan and China.
Along with Taiwan, the islets — called the Diaoyutai in China and Senkaku in Japan — form part of what military strategists call the “first island chain.” The string of islands and atolls extends along China’s eastern periphery from South Korea to the southern Philippines, taking in a number of other disputed territories — notably the Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea.
While most explanations for the territorial disputes focus on nationalistic pride and access to rich fishing grounds or potentially large reserves of oil and gas, the first island chain once figured prominently in strategic calculations — and some say still has strategic relevance today.
Read the full story at China Defense MashUp