This weekend Japanese netizens have reacted to an article by MSN Sankei News that China had suggested to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that they might be able to assert territorial rights in Hawai’i.

While Clinton used the example to emphasize that any claims to territorial rights should be arbitrated through the correct channels, it seems that the news has been received by some netizens as demonstrative of a pro-active Chinese territorial agenda. The article has been re-tweeted thousands of times, and has garnered over three thousand Facebook ‘likes’, despite only having been posted less than 24 hours ago.

From MSN Sankei:

China ‘Could Also Insist Upon Territorial Rights in Hawai’i: US Secretary of State Reveals Part of Consultation With China.

On November 29, it was revealed that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated in a question and answer session at a speech she gave in Washington, that when the US had consulted with China about the past problems of territoriality in the South China Sea, the Chinese side had said that they could also ‘insist on (territorial rights to) Hawai’i’. To which Clinton replied, ‘Well, you’re welcome to try. Territorial rights will be settled through arbitration institutions. That is precisely the action that we want you to take’.

She did not mention the time of the consultation or the specific details, but it is possible that it was an exchange that happened around the time of the East Asian Summit on November 20.

It was also confirmed that Admiral Keating was made commander of the United States Pacific Command, it was suggested by officials of the Chinese navy that the US navy could administer the area East of Hawai’i, while the Chinese navy could administer the West.

Regarding the territoriality problems between China and surrounding nations, Secretary of State Clinton stated that any situation which invited regional tensions due to assertions of territorial rights ‘would not be tolerated in the 21st century’ and she re-affirmed her support for the ‘code of conduct’ plans laid out by ASEAN. Clinton also emphasised that the territoriality problems must be resolved using ‘legal means’.

Furthermore, she also admitted that as a ‘global power’, the US could not neglect the possibility that territorial disputes might arise in the Arctic and Mediterranean seas. She said that while China asserts its territorial rights in ‘as broad an area as possible’, to maintain order based on international law, we must ‘discuss things directly’.

Comments from Twitter:

赤羽 龍十:

@mugilin:This is an exaggerated remark, but it seems like they’re going to say that the whole world is Chinese territory.

山田史弥:

I just don’t get this at all.

Sakky!!:

Well, this is getting interesting www

k_a_wa:

I thought this was made-up wwwww

godmother:

So this is the background to the US reconfirming its defence obligations and to it making clear its defence authorization bill. The end of Hilary’s diplomacy with China. China has some nerve, what with trying to use Hawaii as the boundary that divides East and West, and I’m shocked but we shouldn’t make fun of this frightening [turn of events].

bullseye-osk.com:

Chinese people are out of their minds, aren’t they? I guess that they don’t understand or teach the rules of the world as we teach to our children.

まつい:

Why did they encourage the US?

つくね:

‘International’ ‘US’ ‘Tokutei Asia‘ ‘China’ ‘Foreign Diplomacy’ ‘Territory’ ‘This is awful’ No — it’s none of those things, even if you think about it normally. If only Japan would also come out with such a strong attitude.

T.M.:

If that’s how China feels, then it seems like it’d be better for us to review the division of China.

しん／死刑廃止と死刑存置の考察・管理人:

Is this like saying ‘Hawai’i is the Ra nation in the ancient Chinese Records of Wei: Biography of the Wa People'(・ω・)？RT @nekoguruma — What kind of logic is that?

各務原 夕(障り猫車):

What the hell kind of logic is this?

尖閣から泊原発の稼働を叫ぶ者:

If we don’t defend it seriously then Senkoku — even Kyushu — is in danger!

pafu009:

Far from having omni-directional foreign policy, is China aiming for omni-directional territorial expansion? Is their final objective total world domination? (笑)

生島 勘富:

This is reality and not a joke, but do Japanese people really understand this?

びふぼ:

Hmmm.It’s a Sankei article I guess, but if it’s true I’m grateful. I want the Chinese Republic to try even hard and so that it’s ‘true self’ is known to the world. I support China with all my heart. Do your best, China!

shinya sugiura:

I can’t really imagine Hawai’i being in China. Rejected.

大地/井宿:

If you look at things from the other side, could you say that Japan administers the area up until inland China? We don’t really want inland China though.

Yuichiro Tahara:

Seems like the Eastern edge of what China thinks is Chinese territory is Hawai’i.

eniabay: