Japanese surveyors travel towards a disputed island chain in the East China Sea.

A team of Japanese surveyors prepares to depart for the Senkaku Islands, where oil and natural gas prospects loom large in a dispute with China. Below, a map shows the Senkaku and two other potentially energy-rich island chains that are part of a tug of war in the region.

Photograph from Jiji Press/Japan Pool/AFP

Why Are China and Japan Sparring Over Eight Tiny, Uninhabited Islands?

Potential energy wealth beneath the East China Sea's Senkaku Islands places them at the center of a tense territorial dispute between China and its neighbors.

ByMarianne Lavelle and Jeff Smith
Published October 26, 2012

Part of our weekly "In Focus" series—stepping back, looking closer.

Why are China and Japan locked in a tense face-off, alarming the world and inflicting substantial economic pain on themselves, over a bunch of tiny uninhabited islands in the East China Sea?

Nationalist politics and historical resentments figure heavily in the territorial dispute, as do fish. But there's another potent ingredient: energy.