ABSTRACT
The politics of confrontation is a dangerous game that can be played in many ways. While parties may register a dispute over who owns a particular territory, they may claim publically to wish to reach a sensible and acceptable solution. However, the non-resolution of a dispute, and its continued festering status, may provide valuable ammunition to both parties. Concurrently, the evidently circumscribed nature of an island or island group generates a geophysical and mental frame to the whole affair, one that is (hopefully) more easily controlled; and therefore less likely to spill over and infect other spaces. The standstill over the Diaoyu/Senkaku has been quite helpful in this respect to both parties, even if some collateral damage has spilled over from various flashpoints. The stand-off over a bunch of uninhabited rocks and islets has delivered considerable political capital to both leaders, and their respective hawkish factions, in China and Japan.
