TFIGlobal
TFIGlobal
TFIPOST English
TFIPOST हिन्दी
No Result
View All Result
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean
TFIGlobal
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean
No Result
View All Result
TFIGlobal
TFIGlobal
No Result
View All Result
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean

China has smelled the rare earth treasure that Japanese controlled Ogasawara is, but Japan has deployed its coast guards to protect it

Abhinav Singh by Abhinav Singh
February 13, 2021
in Geopolitics
China, Japan, Jinping, Suga
Share on FacebookShare on X

China and its insatiable hunger for natural resources is a well-documented fact. In its quest to monopolise and eventually weaponise the entire rare earth metal segment, China has been foraying into the resource-rich islands of Japan. However, Tokyo has had enough of Beijing’s belligerence and it has now started to bat on the front foot. According to news reports, Japan Coast Guard recently announced it would deploy the 180-ton patrol vessel Mikazuki to the Ogasawara Islands in the coming months and will also increase the number of officers stationed there.

It is pertinent to note that in the year 2018, an estimated 16 million metric tons of rare earth elements—enough to fulfil global demands potentially for hundreds of years on a semi-infinite basis—were discovered in Japanese waters near Minami-Torishima, an island in the aforementioned Ogasawara Island group located about 1,800 kilometres southeast of Tokyo.

Also Read

How China “Shot Down” the F-35 with Rare-Earth Missile?

China moves into Venezuela directly challenges Trump and US, Xi Jinping’s $1 Billion Oil Gambit for Maduro

Trump vs BRICS: Tariffs, Tensions, and the Pushback from China India and Russia

China has had its eyes set on the islands for a long time since then. As a result, in addition to the patrol vessel, the Japanese government has increased the fines from 10 million yen (USD 94,782) to 30 million yen (USD 284,347), while the fine for refusing an inspection has risen from 300,000 yen (USD 2,843) to 3 million yen (USD 28,434).

Another disputed island named Okinotorishima is also on the radar of the Chinese PLA-Navy. Last year, in the month of January, Tokyo lodged a protest against Beijing through diplomatic channels after a ship operated by China’s State Oceanic Administration was monitored around Okinotorishima.

Presently, China accounts for 70 per cent of the global production in rare earth metals. Chinese monopoly in any sector of the global economy is detrimental to the entire humankind. The Communist hardliners in China have been instigating Beijing to weaponise its monopoly by cutting the US off the rare earth minerals supply. CCP mouthpiece Global Times even called Chinese monopoly in rare earth minerals “an ace in Beijing’s hand”

Sensing that China was using its monopoly in the rare earth metals portfolio to its advantage, the former US President Donald Trump in October last year signed an order declaring a national emergency in the American mining industry. The executive order was aimed at boosting the domestic production of rare earth metals critical for military technologies while cutting dependence on the paper dragon.

The executive order had stated that the country’s “undue reliance on critical minerals, in processed or unprocessed form, from foreign adversaries constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”

Rare earth metals are an extremely crucial component in the production of smartphones, semiconductors, satellites, and electric vehicles (EVs).

As reported by TFI, even Russia is planning an investment of $1.5 billion in rare earth elements. In fact, Kremlin is looking to make Russia the second-biggest producer of these minerals by 2030 to keep China and its belligerence in check. 

Read more: Putin is inviting the world to tap Russia’s rare earth reserves and destroy China’s dominance in the sector

Japan seizing on the initiative by stationing a patrol ship to counter the Chinese is a step in the right direction. If the Quad or the new world order, with or without Biden’s USA is to take on China, then its monopoly in every single sector needs to be challenged and a dogged Tokyo is doing just that.

Tags: ChinaJapanShort takes
ShareTweetSend
Abhinav Singh

Abhinav Singh

Here to fulfill Ra's al Ghul's Destiny

Also Read

Hanged Over a Letter to Zelenskyy"? Iran Executes Man Accused of Espionage for Israel. Unravel the mystery behind it 

Hanged Over a Letter to Zelenskyy? Iran Executes Man Accused of Espionage for Israel. Unravel the mystery behind it 

September 17, 2025
Modi vs NATO? India’s Role in Zapad-2025 Sparks Western Outrage but Reality Tells a Different Story

Modi vs NATO? India’s Role in Zapad-2025 Sparks Western Outrage but Reality Tells a Different Story

September 17, 2025
India and Airbus solidify billion dollar partnership as orders for 100s of new aircrafts help the the Airline maufacturer zoom ahead of its rivals

India and Airbus solidify billion dollar partnership as orders for 100s of new aircrafts help the the Airline maufacturer zoom ahead of its rivals

September 17, 2025
Jewish Israeli Intelligence Officer Ari Ben Menashe claims Israel PM Netanyahu is blackmailing President Trump

Israeli Intelligence Officer Ari Ben Menashe claims Israel PM Netanyahu is blackmailing President Trump

September 16, 2025
Jeffrey Sachs claims French President Emmanuel Macron privately admitted NATO is to blame for the Ukraine war. Did NATO’s expansion provoke the conflict long before 2022?

American Economist Jeffrey Sachs reveals that Macron admitted in private that NATO triggered the Ukraine war, fueling claims of Western hypocrisy and a proxy conflict of NATO vs Russia 

September 16, 2025
How China “Shot Down” the F-35 with a Rare-Earth Missile ?

How China “Shot Down” the F-35 with Rare-Earth Missile?

September 16, 2025
Youtube Twitter Facebook
TFIGlobalTFIGlobal
Right Arm. Round the World. FAST.
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • TFIPOST – English
  • TFIPOST हिन्दी
  • Careers
  • Brand Partnerships
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy

©2025 - TFI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean
TFIPOST English
TFIPOST हिन्दी

©2025 - TFI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. View our Privacy and Cookie Policy.