At one little-known juncture the PRC evenClaimed that OKINAWA also rightly belongs to China. That one really, really surprised me.
Chinese territorial expansion has involved continually annexing border states. It starts with a tributary state relationship, and the imposition of puppet rulers and ends with an invasion, when the puppet ruler decides he's not China's plaything. When successful, these invasions result in new provinces. We tend to assume that the Chinese are playing by the rules set by Western experiences up to and including WWII. I think they've been playing by Chinese rules all along, and have merely been biding their time. And the principal Chinese rule is that he who has the muscle makes the rules or as Thucydides put it: "Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must." Just because you've been nice to the dragon doesn't mean the dragon will respond in kind.
Actually China does have a somewhat plausible claim to Okinawa. The kings of the Ryukyu Islands pledged loyalty to BOTH the Japanese and Chinese Emperors historically, playing them both off against one another. That’s the basis for the historic claim by both countries to Okinawa. In reality, the islands were self governing until relatively recently.
Thanks for your information.
They must be aspiring democrats.
